


Pretty Visitor

by supersonic_scientist



Category: Alex Turner (Musician) - Fandom, Arctic Monkeys
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:28:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 46,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25562077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supersonic_scientist/pseuds/supersonic_scientist
Summary: Alex, distraught after being left by Alexa, meets a musician new to the industry and their bond is immediate.
Relationships: Alex Turner (Musician)/Reader
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 4.1K
> 
> Notes from the Author: Hey everyone! This is my first attempt at writing a fic since 2017, so cut me some slack if it's awful! Thank you for reading!
> 
> (Y/F/N) = Your First Name 
> 
> (Y/L/N) = Your Last Name
> 
> Tumblr Link: https://supersonic-scientist.tumblr.com/post/618642274033729536/pretty-visitor-chapter-i

“Fuck, I don’t know!” I yelled in protest and tossed the notebook down “I’ve never done anything like this before!”.

The recording engineer sighed at me. I was 24 and had just graduated from college. My degree was in biology, but music was my real calling. Some friends from college and I had a little band and we’d play at the campus bars on weekends. I wrote all of our music and we managed to get a few fans. At our last gig before graduation, we were approached by some record company executives and asked if we would like to record some material. I decided that I’d take a couple of gap years and see if I could get my music career off the ground before I went into a career in a laboratory for the rest of my life. I was the only band member who was interested, so here I was trying to record music on my own. My first day in the studio was a particularly cold Friday in February. Even though I was a nobody, Ariel Rechtshaid was assigned to produce my record. He’s produced some of my favorite bands, such as Vampire Weekend and Arctic Monkeys. To say I was honored to work with him would be an understatement.

“I like what you’ve got, I really do, but I think that this could use some fine-tuning. I’ve got a friend who may just be the person to do it, too. Would you be ok with getting some help from him?” Ariel asks me.

“Sure, I’m going to need a hell of a lot of help here” I replied.

“Ok, I’ll give him a call. Give me a moment”

He pulled out his phone and left the room. I laid back in my chair and began to ponder who he possibly could be calling. He’s probably got connections with hundreds or thousands of awesome, noteworthy songwriters. Maybe he’s calling one of those people who writes songs for others for a living. Or maybe he’s calling a singer-songwriter who fronts their own band? I don’t know but I’m interested to meet this person. Whoever they are, I know that they’ll be able to give me invaluable advice.

“Ok”, Ariel says as he returns to the room, “he’s not busy right now so he said he’ll be over in about half an hour”

“Awesome!”, you reply, “so, who is this mysterious songwriter?” I asked him.

“It’s a surprise, but I think you’ll like him. He’s a very nice lad. His style of music is pretty similar to what you’ve got here, and I think he can help you fine-tune it so that this album goes big.”

Ariel and I chat for a bit while we wait for our mysterious guest to arrive. We talked a bit about school and drama when he began talking about a past relationship that ended terribly. After his story, he asked me: “what’s the worst breakup you’ve ever had?”

I laughed and told him, “well, I’ve never actually been in a relationship before.”

“What!” He yelled in the quiet mixing room, “you’ve never dated anyone! Never even kissed someone or anything?”

“Nope. I’ve kissed my friends as a joke before, but I was always so busy in school with the band and my classes that I never had the time to get a boyfriend or girlfriend” I bluntly told him.

“Well,” he shrugged, “if this album performs well, you’ll be able to have anyone you want!”

We both share a laugh at his comment. Before we can continue our conversation, the door opens and in slides the mysterious songwriter. He was a smaller man with curly, dark brown hair that flowed just past his shoulders. His bright red sweater almost snagged on the corner of the control desk as he made his way through the room. His dark brown eyes were filled with panic as he rushed over to an empty chair, guitar case in one hand and a notebook in the other. I immediately recognize him as Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys. This was who was going to help me? I was in a state of disbelief. I love his work and I love him. How lucky am I?

“Sorry it took me so long to get here, the traffic was a state!”, he yelled in his thick Yorkshire accent as he set his things down.

“No worries mate! I’d like you to meet someone”, Ariel said as he motions to me.

“Hi! I’m (Y/F/N) (Y/L/N)! I’m the songwriter that needs a bit of help” I greet him as I stand up from my seat.

“Well it’s lovely to meet you, (Y/F/N)! I’m Alex” He said.

He gave me the warmest smile that I’d ever seen as he approached me. I noticed that he was only slightly taller than me, and I was 5’6”. He extended his hand towards mine and firmly shook it. I couldn’t believe that he was actually here in this studio with me. I’d been a fan of his since the first album. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a huge crush on him. Now here he is sitting in the chair next to mine bent down digging through the front pocket of his guitar case. His long hair obscured his face as he searched. It looked so silky and I had to resist the urge to reach out and run my fingers through it.

He finally pulled a pen from his guitar case and turned towards me. “So, love, what do you have to show me?” He asks.

I grabbed my notebook and opened it to the first song. He scooted his chair over so that he could get a better look. He was mere centimeters from me, and I could smell his cologne. I slid the notebook over closer to him.

“I’ve got about 15 songs here. I’ve written these over the years and while I think they’re pretty good, they could use a little bit of work to make them more appealing” I told him.

“We’ll see about that” he said with a small giggle as he studied the page.  
The song he was looking at was titled “Standing Next to Me”. God was that stressful. I really wanted him to like my work. I was hoping I would get some clues from his facial expression, but he held a poker face the whole time. 

Finally, after flipping through the song for about five minutes, he looks up at me and smiles.

“Wow, (Y/F/N), this is really good! I wish I’d written it myself!” He said, pushing the notebook closer to me so he could point out a few things that caught his eye.

I was surprised that all of the corrections that he suggested were really minor. He asked me to consider changing a few notes to a different key, changing a few words around, and some light rearranging. After about 3 hours we had gone through all 15 songs and I felt way better about myself. He liked every song that I showed him and thought that only minuscule changes were needed. He also pointed out a few songs that he thought were really strong and would make good singles. That was such a confidence boost for me knowing that he actually liked everything I showed him.

“So, how long have you been at this?” He asked me after we were done with my songs.

“Um, about three years. I started writing for my band back at school during the last year of undergrad and then kept working on songs through grad school” I told him.

“Grad school eh? We’ve got a smart one here!” He smiled at me.

“Not really, I’d much prefer being a recording artist than a scientist in a research lab”.

“I can understand that. But with all of the school you’ve done, I’m assuming that you’re a bit older too?”

“Yea, I’m 24”

“You’re older than me! I just turned 23. But don’t let my young age fool you. I’ve got 3 albums under my belt and I’d say that I’m quite the ‘professional’”

He had quite a laugh at the word professional. I had to admit; he was making this hard for me. I had always thought that he was a sweet guy, but now that I’ve worked with him, I knew he was sweet. He was also even better looking in person. Those brown puppy eyes made my heart skip a beat and those soft, pink lips of his made me want to dive in and kiss him. I wanted to lay with him and love him, but I knew I couldn’t. The first obstacle was his girlfriend Alexa. She seemed like such a nice person and I would never knowingly get involved in cheating. I’ve seen how it impacts the other person and I never want to hurt someone like that. The second is that I’d probably never see him again. He’ll come in today, do his job, and leave. The only thing I’ll have left to remember him will be his messy handwriting in my song notebook.

I’m suddenly pulled out of my thought by Ariel’s loud announcement: “Alright everyone, it’s 5:00 pm and I’m heading out. You all are free to stay if you want but I’ve got some other business to attend to.” He states as he grabs his stuff.

“Ok, that’s fine! We’ll see you around Ariel!” I tell him as he puts his coat on.

“See ya (Y/F/N)! Bye Alex!” He tells us as he walks out the door.

We both watch as he leaves the room and shuts the door behind him. Once Ariel is out and down the hall Alex turns around in his chair to face me.

“I don’t know if Ariel ever ran this by you,” he began, “but he asked me over the phone if I’d be willing to play some of the instruments on this album. I’d like to know what you think of that idea before I agree to help” he asked me, a bit of seriousness in his eyes.

“Absolutely! I think that you’re quite the skilled musician and I would appreciate it if you’d like to contribute your talents to my album!” I replied. He gave me a smile and a giggle.

“Well, unless you need me help anymore, I should probably be heading out. I’ve got a roast and some veggies in the slow cooker at home.” He announced.

“Oh, we’ve got a musician and a chef all in one?” I ask him with a raised eyebrow.

“Uh I guess”, he replied, “it’s either I cook for myself or get takeout every night.” He replied.

“Ok I get that. But does your girlfriend ever help with the cooking or is that your department?” I prod at him a bit just to see if I can get any information about his relationship status.

“Well, she did,” he said as the smile fell from his face, “but she broke up with me and moved out of our shared house about a month ago. I moved into a new apartment yesterday” He said, and I could hear him choking up a bit.

“I’m so sorry!” I said as a put my hand over his on his knee, “I should have never asked that. It’s not my business anyways.”

“No, you’re fine. You couldn’t have known. It’s alright though. It was probably for the best anyway that she ended things with me” he told me, and I could see the tears welling up in his eyes. “Well, I better be going,” he announced as he picked up his pen and slid it in the pocket of his guitar case, “I’ve only met you a few hours ago and you don’t need to see me cry yet!” He said with a weak chuckle.

“It’s alright,” I say as I stand up, “it’s best to let your emotions out then bottle them up.” At that he gave a little smile.

“Bye love” he said as he stood up. He began walking towards me and I wasn’t sure what he was doing until he extended his arms towards me. I opened mine and fell into his embrace.

“Sorry, I’m a bit of a hugger” he told me as he gave me a gentle squeeze and patted my back.

“You’re fine!” I replied, secretly enjoying this hug more than I should.  
It only lasted a few seconds, but it felt longer. His warm body pressed against mine was almost too much. I could smell his cologne even stronger than before and I could smell his floral shampoo because his head was on my shoulder. His body fit perfectly into mine and I wanted to hold him for longer.

“Before I go,” he began, breaking me from my bliss, “could I get your phone number, just in case Ariel forgets to tell me what’s going on and won’t answer the phone like he does”

I gave a little laugh and we exchanged numbers. My heart fluttered a little bit when he handed me my phone back and I saw ‘Alex Turner’ as a contact. We grab our things, put on our coats, and walked out of the studio together.

“So, you live around here?” He asks me.

“No, I live all the way over on the other side of London in Hampstead” I reply to him.

“Really? So do I!” he almost yelled, “where?”

“I live in a building on Primrose Avenue” I casually told him.

“What! No way! I live one street over on Wilton Drive! We’re neighbors!” He very loudly exclaimed.

“It’s so funny that in this big city we just happen to live right by each other” I said.

“Absolutely! You know if you want, I would gladly take you back to your place if you’d like a ride” he asks me.

“You know what, I think I’ll have to take you up on that offer” I said, “because my other option is the Tube.”

“Ew, I hate the Tube,” he said with a bit of a laugh, “especially when it’s cold outside and flu season.”

“It’s pretty gross, to tell you the truth, but I can’t afford a car quite yet, so it’ll have to do”

I continued to walk beside him until we made it to the front door of the building. He opens the door for me, and I step out into the chilly air. These London winters were always terribly cold. “God damnit” I heard him mutter under his breath. I turned to face him and watched as he fumbled with his pockets trying to find his car keys. It was difficult to suppress a laugh at his struggle. Finally, he pulls his keys from his pocket and scans the parking lot. His eyes scan the very back of the lot.

“Sorry love, by the time I got here the car park was pretty full so it’s all the way in the back” he said in an apologetic tone.

“No problem, it still beats walking all the way to the tube station.”

I followed him as he wound through the cars until he stopped at a black Mini Cooper. He unlocked the car and went to the back to put his guitar in.

“Feel free to get in! After I get my guitar in the back we’ll head out” he told me with a reassuring smile.

He walked to the trunk of the car and I opened up the passenger door. In the seat I found a pile of about 6 novels, 3 jazz records, a very dated dictionary, and a neatly folded tweed coat. The books and records were yellowed, and the coat looked vintage. I wasn’t sure what to do so I waited until he came back around to the front of the car.

“Where would you like me to move this?” I ask him, motioning to the full passenger seat.

“Oh”, he said, glancing to the stuff in the seat. He looked into my eyes with a straight face and said, “I guess you’ll have to sit in the back.”

I gave him a very confused look, which caused him to burst into laughter. 

“No, no, no I’m kidding! Let me move all of that out of your way!” He chuckled as he came over to the passenger side.God his laugh was cute. He sounded like a little puppy barking. Well I guess it was fitting because he looked like a puppy too.

“Sorry”, he said as he gathered all of his things and moved them to the back, “I was at a thrift shop when Ariel called me and I didn’t have time to drop off what I got at my apartment, so I just put it in my car and drove over here.”

“You’re fine and you didn’t have to! Ariel and I could have entertained each other for an extra 15 minutes.” I told him with a little laugh.

We got into the car and I watched his delicate hand movements as he started it. As he pulled out of the spot he began to speak: “I’m assuming that you’ve lived over here longer than me, have you been to the thrift shop? It’s one street over from me and two over from you. I think it’s called ‘Hampstead Thrift’ or summat like that.”

“I haven’t”, I told him, “I’ve only lived here for about a month.”

“You should. It’s a very nice little shop. They’ve got all kinds of things there. Books, records, clothes, knick knacks, glassware, jewelry, and some other stuff too. I didn’t get to finish looking around, but I think I may go back and get some fancy glasses to drink my whiskey from. Would you maybe like to come along with me sometime? If thrift stores are your thing, that is.”

“I would love to!” I said to him, “I’m free tomorrow if you’d like to go then?”

“That would be lovely! They open at noon, so what time should we meet?” He asked me.

“Well, there’s a nice little cafe on your street that I’d like to show you, so maybe we could meet at 11:00 and go there first and get lunch?” I asked, looking at him to gauge his reaction.

“That sounds amazing!” He replied.

“Great! How about I meet you at your building at 11:00?” I asked, wondering if he’d be ok if I was the one who did the picking up.

“That’d be wonderful!” He responded with a smile.

The rest of the ride was lovely. We chatted about our shared love of antique things, music, and general nonsense. We were smiling the whole time. My heart sank a bit in my chest when I saw that we were approaching my building. He pulled up to the front entrance and then turned to me.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, love”, he said to me with a smile.

“I’ll see you then”, I replied.

I leaned over to him and wrapped my arms around his neck, and he placed his hands on my back. It was a quick little goodbye hug and before I knew it, he was gone. I walked up to my apartment with the biggest grin on my face. My friends aren’t going to believe this story. As soon as my apartment door was closed, I let out the small scream that I had been suppressing all day. It didn’t feel real that I had just spent four hours with Alex Turner, and I was seeing him again tomorrow to hang out. I had to call my best friend, Stephanie. I dialed her number into my phone and waited until it was done ringing

“Hello?” I hear on the other line.

“Hey! Steph! It’s (Y/F/N). I’ve got the wildest story to tell you!”

“Oh my god! Tell me!”

“Well, today I had my first day in the studio and my producer wanted to bring in someone to help me perfect my songs. And who was the person he brought in? A L E X T U R N E R!!”

“Wait, Arctic Monkeys Alex Turner?”

“Yup”

“Awwwww, is he doing ok? I heard his girlfriend broke up with him.”

“Well, I asked him if she helps him do the cooking at home, and I didn’t know they’d broken up when I asked him, and he almost cried, so I don’t think he’s doing super well yet.”

“Poor guy”

“Is it bad that when I heard that he and his girlfriend had broken up, my first thought was ‘I’ll be your girlfriend’?”

“That’s what I would have though too. I would love to date him. He seems like such an angel.”

“I can confirm that he is an angel. He was super nice to me all day, he drove me home since his apartment is right by mine, and we’re going out tomorrow.”

“YOU GUYS ARE GOING OUT TOMORROW!?! LIKE ON A DATE??”

“No! Not like on a date! He just moved in yesterday and he wanted to take me to a thrift shop, and I want to show him a cafe. So, we’re going to go get lunch at a cafe and then going to look around a thrift shop.”

“Oh my god! I’ve got to get off the phone now, but you better call me tomorrow afterward and tell me how it goes!”

“I will! Don’t worry! Bye Steph!”

“Bye, (Y/F/N)!”

I love talking to her. Any time I need to get something off of my chest, I can tell her, and I know that she’ll listen. I know that she’s busy with law school, so our little conversations mean the world to me. I miss our days in college together. We would listen to music and gossip in her dorm (Arctic Monkeys were usually one of our top music choices). I think that she’ll appreciate hearing what I tell her about my adventures with Alex.

By this point, it was 7:00pm. I made myself dinner and got lost in thought. That first thing that Stephanie asked was if Alex was ok because of his recent breakup. Should I have already known this? I decided that I needed to do some research. I found a tabloid article about the breakup online. According to the article, Alexa broke up with him because she didn’t have time for a boyfriend because of her career. She said that they never got to spend time together, even though they lived together, and she wasn’t able to give him what he deserves in a relationship. She decided to end things with him and move out the day before his birthday. The article also talked about how after she moved out, Alex didn’t take it well. He stayed in his house for an entire week and didn’t leave at all.

He finally left the house at the urging of his friend Miles, who took him out shopping to get some new clothes to wear on stage during their upcoming tour this summer. Well, in one of the shops, Alex lost it and began sobbing. There was a paparazzi shot included of Alex wrapped up in Miles’ arms with his face buried into Miles’ chest. Miles had his head on top of Alex’s talking to him in an attempt to calm him down.

At that point I was done. I didn’t need to see anymore. I was sickened at the invasion of privacy and how someone could hurt Alex like that. It was pretty obvious how much Alex loved Alexa, so I don’t understand how she could break up with him because “she didn’t have time” for him. I bet that she found someone else and didn’t want to admit it.

I took a deep breath and cleared the anger from my mind. Alexa was out of the picture and there was nothing I could do. Alex, though, would probably still need some support to get through this. Being alone probably didn’t help him cope, so maybe I could help minimize the time he spends alone. I decided that after our little get together tomorrow, I’d invite him over to my apartment for dinner. I’ve got a fridge full of ingredients for different recipes, so I would be able to make something that he’d like.

Hopefully, if I care for him enough, he’ll start to feel like himself again. And maybe, just maybe, I’d be able to win him over in the process.


	2. Chapter II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 3.7K
> 
> (Y/F/N) = Your First Name
> 
> Tumblr Link: https://supersonic-scientist.tumblr.com/post/619268857508577280/pretty-visitor-chapter-ii

The next morning was the most chaotic I’d had in a long time. It was a Saturday, so my body told me to relax, but there was too much to do. I was going to invite him over for dinner, so I needed to make sure that my apartment was in top shape. I dusted every surface, swept and vacuumed the floors, cleaned the kitchen, and tried to get some stains out of my couch. By the time I was done the place was cleaner than I had ever seen it.

The next dilemma was that I wasn’t sure how I should dress. I was debating dressing up, but we weren’t doing anything fancy and the chilly February air would make wearing a nice dress miserable, so I settled on a more casual look. I wore a warm but nice looking light pink sweater with a pair of dark navy jeans and my favorite pair of boots. I did my usual amount of make-up and added a small amount of curl to my hair. Topped off with a cute winter hat and a long puffy coat, I looked pretty good.

I waited until about 10:40 to leave my apartment so that I would get to his place right at 11:00. When I finally left my apartment, I could feel the pit begin to form in my stomach, but it didn’t necessarily feel bad. It was caused by excitement and not fear. The cold turned my cheeks red as I walked from Primrose Avenue to Wilton Drive. He had told me what his building looked like and the address before he dropped me off the day before. I did some research and determined that I would need to cross my street, go south past the first building I saw, and then the next building was his.

I stepped inside the front door of his building at 10:58. Once I was inside, I scanned the lobby. There was a nice little setup with some couches, a fireplace, and a TV. On one of the couches sat Alex, who spotted me immediately. His hair was as puffy and curly as it usually was, and he was wrapped up in a tweed coat. It very well may have been the tweed coat that was on his passenger seat yesterday. 

“(Y/F/N)! Hello!” He yelled across the empty lobby.

“Hi Alex!” I replied to him as I watched him stand up. He made his way over to me wrapped me into one of his hugs. It didn’t last long until he pulled away. He kept his hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eyes.

“I’m so excited to go out on our little adventure today!” He told me through his big smile. He looked really happy, but his red, puffy eyes told another story. It was obvious that he had been crying not long before.

He stuck the crook of his arm out towards me and said, “lead me away, love”.  
I did as he wanted and hooked my arm with his. He was so close to me and it made the pit in my stomach grow a little bit bigger. It took all of my strength not to lay my head on his shoulder as we walked out of his apartment building and down the street.

“Are you from around here?” I ask him. Obviously, I know the answer to that question, but I still ask it out of curiosity.

“Nope! I’m from Sheffield! It’s about 130 miles north up by Liverpool and Manchester” he said to me with a little grin on his face.

“That’s awesome! I’ve been in London for a while now. I moved here six years ago from the United States for college, and I’ve decided to stay here” I said to him, and he gave a nod.

“London’s a nice city”, he began, “but it was kind of nice to grow up away from it. Sheffield could be a bit of a dump at times, but I’m pretty proud to say that I’m from there.”

“Oh look, there’s the cafe!” I said, pulling him over a bit so that we could walk in without bumping into anyone. We stepped in and I looked at Alex’s face as he scanned the room.

The cafe was pretty small compared to others in the city, but it was considerably cozier. The floors and walls were wood, along with all of the furniture. The coffee bar and register counter had a wooden base with white granite countertops. There were booths that lined the walls and tables in the middle of the seating area. We joined the small queue in front of the registers and began to decide what we wanted to order.

“Wow, this place has quite the menu, I don’t even know what to get” he whispered to me.

“I usually get the caprese chicken sandwich or the four cheese and ham on a croissant” I whisper back.

“Oh, the ham and cheese sounds really good” he said, his eyes widening a bit, “and then I think I’ll get a cappuccino to go with it”.

“That sounds good! I think I’ll get the caprese sandwich with a mocha”

When it was finally our turn to order, I had him order first and then I placed my order all on the same bill. I went to swipe my card to pay, but before I could a hand reached out and grabbed my wrist.

“I can pay, I was the one who suggested we go out”, he said with big eyes, his hand still firmly around my wrist.

“No, no, no, I suggested this cafe so I’ll pay” I sternly tell him. He joking rolled his eyes at me.

“Fine”, he said, letting my wrist free, “but I’m buying you something at the thrift shop.”

I pay, take our number, and we went to look for somewhere to sit. It was pretty crowded in the cafe, but we found a nice booth in the back corner up against the window. We could see all of the people walking to and fro past the window outside.

“Sometimes when I sit and watch people walk by, I like to wonder what’s going on in their lives” I state.

Alex laughed at that and replied, “Really? That’s pretty interesting.”

“It is! Like for example, look at that woman over there in the purple coat”, I said, pointing at her out the window, “she looks pretty young, and it looks like she has an engagement ring on. I wonder if she’s getting ready to be married?”

“Interesting” Alex uttered with no emotion.

“Is everything ok?” I asked him, sliding my hand across the table. He reached his out and I took it in mine.

“Yea, it’s just that reminded me of Alexa”, he said, a little tear forming in his left eye.

“Oh no! I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have”- I began to say, but he cut me off.

“No, I’m not upset with you. You couldn’t have known. I’m assuming that you’ve read all of the tabloids that said that we broke up because we didn’t have time for each other?”

“Yes, I have”

“Well, that was just a lie we both agreed on as to why we broke up. The real reason was that I wanted to marry her, but she didn’t want to get married. I spent months hunting down the perfect engagement ring for her and planning the proposal. On New Year’s Eve I proposed to her, and she said no. A few days later she broke up with me, said that things just weren’t the same since then. I was heartbroken. Still am”.

“Oh Alex, I’m so sorry. I always found you two cute, and I’m sad that things had to end that way.” As I finished that sentence, I heard the barista yell out our order number.

“Well, enough of the sad stuff, I’m starving!”, he said, breaking into a smile and wiping the tears from his eyes with his sweater sleeve. When he stood up, I put my arm around his shoulders and gently rubbed his arm.

“You’re strong”, I told him, “you’ll get through this.”

He smiled at me and placed his head on my shoulder for a moment. We got our food and sat down. Having lunch with him was amazing. We chatted about so much and got to know each other better. He asked me about college, how I got into music, what my favorite bands were, and about what it was like for me growing up. I asked him pretty similar questions. We were surprised that we had fairly similar upbringings and both liked a lot of the same bands. It didn’t seem like we were there for very long, but it turns out that we had been there talking for three hours. It was 2:00, and the thrift shop closed at 4:00, so we decided that we better get going.

On the way out, Alex was asked to sign a few autographs by the staff at the cafe. After that was done, we left and walked down to the thrift shop, this time his arm comfortably tucked in the crook of my arm. As we walked, it began to lightly snow. Alex’s thick mane of hair quickly became covered in little snowflakes. He looked over to me and smiled. His cheeks and nose were red from the cold. I couldn’t help but to smile back. I barely knew this guy, and he knew me even less, but I felt that we had something special going on. I didn’t know if a close friendship or a relationship would come from this, but I knew that I wanted him to become a permanent character in my life.

Before I even had the time to finish my thoughts, I felt him gently tug me and he pulled me into the thrift shop. It seemed tiny on the outside and was so inconspicuous that I didn’t even notice it. Once inside, I realized that the shop was quite large. We were the only ones there, except for the shopkeeper, who was a friendly old woman who greeted us as we entered. It was pretty dimly lit, and it smelled of old books and dust. Alex let go of me once we were safely inside and I followed him over to the shelves of old books.

“I’m quite the bookworm,” he said, “growing up, my parents were teachers so we always had books around the house. I love to read. My mom always likes to joke that I was reading before I was walking!”

“That’s awesome!”, I reply to him, “back in high school I used to read all the time”

“Why’d you stop?” He asked me.

“Well, I got busy in college. I brought with me a whole stack of books but never got around to reading them.” I replied to him.

“Ah, I see”, he said, turning his attention back to the bookshelves.

I watched him as he reached just as high as he could to try and pull out a paperback book. He managed to get it off the shelf, but it toppled backwards out of his hands and fell right on his head.

“Ouch!”, he yelled, “I’ve been attacked!”

I laughed at his silliness, “I guess reading can be pretty dangerous”.  
We both shared a laugh over my comment. Since we only had a little bit of time until the shop closed, we did a quick scan of the books. Alex grabbed two book for himself.

“I found an erotic novel”, he said, showing me one of the books, “our drummer, Matt, likes to read these to us while we’re working on things and we all have a good laugh at how badly they’re written!”

“That sounds exactly like what a bunch of boys does for fun”, I tease him.

“I won’t argue your point, boys are very strange creatures”, he said and we both have a good laugh.

There was so much stuff in the shop it was difficult to pick what to look at. We decided to make our way over to the glass and look over there. Alex grabbed two sparkling crystal glasses to drink his whiskey out of. We browsed the glass for a while, looked at some random antique items, and then moved onto clothes. There were many beautiful vintage dresses, coats, suits, and other pieces of clothing. I pulled out an incredibly cute dress. It was an off the shoulder cut with a tight bodice and a puffy skirt that flowed down just past my knees. It was green and covered in small groovy flowers. I guessed that it was from the 1960s.

“Wow!”, Alex said, looking at the dress in my hands, “that’s stunning!”.

“I know! This will be perfect to wear for some of the events that’ll come up once the album is done” I tell him. Watching his eyes run down my body as I held the dress in front of me gave me chills. He’s so attractive, and I’d love for him to be mine. I could hold him whenever I wanted, and I’d finally be able to kiss those sweet lips of his.

He brought me back to reality by saying, “how much is it? I told you that I’d buy you something here since you paid at the cafe”. I reached for the tag, but Alex beat me to it.

“Ah, £40 ($50 USD), I’ll get it for you”, he said.

“No, it’s fine. I’ve got the money. I just signed a record deal a few weeks ago and got paid a few thousand pounds. I can get it!” I reply to him.

“(Y/F/N)”, he starts, “I’ve got over a million in the bank right now. It’s really no problem for me to buy a £40 dress”, he told me in a slightly stern tone.

“Fine, you asshole”, I reply and give him a gentle shove, “but only if you come over to my place after this and let me make you dinner”.

When I said that to him, his eyes went huge, and so did his smile.

“You- you really want to have me over for dinner?!?” He excitedly exclaimed.  
“Of course! I greatly enjoy spending time with you, and I know that you’re feeling pretty lonely right now, so I’d love to have you over!” I tell him.

He looked as though he was going to cry a little bit, but he ended up throwing himself around me, yelling “thank you so much!” And he placed a little kiss to my cheek. That kiss caused me to ascend. His lips were so soft against my skin and I once again got a whiff of his cologne. The smell of it mixed with the smell of the thrift shop fit well together. Again, I found myself wanting to hold onto him forever.

“Oh, lovebirds!”, we heard a woman say. We both turned around to see the shop owner standing in front of us. “I find the two of you adorable, but the shop will be closing in just a few minutes, so if you’d like to get something, I’d suggest bringing it up to the front.”

We followed her to the front counter, and she rang us up for what we had. Alex had gotten a couple of books and two crystal glasses and I had my vintage dress. He paid for it all and we thanked the woman as we left. As we walked back to my apartment, the snow began to fall a bit harder and the temperature dropped as the sun made its way down the horizon. Alex held a brown paper bag with our things from the thrift shop on one hand and used his other hand to hold onto my arm.

Once we walked into the lobby of my building, Alex shook his head like a dog in an attempt to get the snowflakes from his hair. It was quite the cute scene. I led him to the elevator and up to my apartment. Once I had the door unlocked and we were safely inside, he stepped to me and opened his arms. I opened mine and let him fall into my embrace.

“Thank you”, he said to me, “thank you for taking me out today and making dinner for me. I can’t find the words to tell you how much I appreciate it.”

“It’s really no problem”, I tell him, “I love hanging out with you and I know you’re going through a rough patch in your life.”

He buried his face in the crook of my neck for a moment. I could feel his unsteady breath tickling my neck. He took in a few deep breaths before bringing his face back out from its hiding spot.

“I’m starving! Can we make dinner now?”, he said as a smile made its way to his lips.

We dug around in my kitchen and found all of the ingredients we needed to make fettuccine alfredo with chicken and broccoli. Cooking with him was so much fun. He’s quite the cook and I could trust him with things that take a bit a skill. His delicate hands expertly marinated the chicken breast with infused olive oil before he placed it on a pan in the oven.

The chicken needed some time to cook before we started the rest of the components of the dish, so we made our way to the couch to put on something to watch. We ended up finding a documentary about whales on the National Geographic channel. That kept us entertained for a while as we slowly inched closer to each other on the couch. Soon his head was on my shoulder and my arm was around him.

“I know that I only met you yesterday, but I feel like I’ve known you my entire life”, I confessed to him.

“I feel the same way. I really enjoy being around you” he replied, “I almost feel like I’ve fallen in love with you.”

“Wha-what? I- that’s awesome. I’ve felt the same way about you!”, I said.

We looked at each other and both began to laugh out of disbelief. How did we manage to both fall in love with each other after meeting the day before?

“But I don’t want to take this too far yet, I’m still nursing a broken heart”. He said to me.

“Neither do I,” I tell him, “I’ve never dated, and I don’t know how one goes about dating.”

There was a moment of silence between us, and then the timer went off in the kitchen for us to start making the rest of our meal. He stood up from his position on the couch and extended his hand toward me as he cocked an eyebrow. I couldn’t help but smile as I took his hand and he gently pulled me up and led me to the kitchen.

Once we were back, I began working on making the sauce for our fettuccine alfredo and got the water on the stove for the noodles. Alex made our salads. Watching him chop vegetables was a sight. He would chop very quickly while holding what he was cutting, but he never cut himself. I’m awful at using a knife, so from that moment on I made a mental note that he would be responsible for veggie chopping.

Alex cut up and steamed the broccoli for our main dish. He also dug through my cabinets until he found a bottle of wine that my neighbors had given me when I first moved in. I don’t like to drink alone, so it’s been sat in my cabinet since I got it. Alex was going to make good use of it, though. He grabbed the bag from the thrift shop and pulled out his crystal glasses. He washed them in the sink before putting them on the table along with the bottle of wine.

We somehow managed to get all the components of our fettuccine done at the same time, so I combined the sauce, noodles, and broccoli while Alex chopped the chicken and added it in once he was done. We split it up into two plates and what was left over I packaged up for Alex to take home with him. We moved over to the table with our fettuccine and salads and Alex filled the glasses with wine. He sat at one side of my small table and I sat at the other.

“Try the fettuccine, it’s my famous recipe” I said, and he curled some noodles around his fork and took a mouthful.

“Holy shit, this is fucking amazing!” He exclaimed.

I giggled as he went in for another bite. I was glad that he enjoyed it, because I was sending him home with more that should last him for at least another meal. My hope was that if he gets himself all worked up and doesn’t feel up for cooking, he has something easy to eat that is better than some boring frozen meal. Dinner was amazing, and I’m glad I got to share it with my amazing new friend.

Once we finished eating, we cleaned up all of our dishes and went back to watching our nature documentaries and snuggling on the couch. Our legs intertwined as we rested our heads on each other and rubbed each other’s knees. We cuddled and talked about ourselves for a few hours until the clock struck 9:00 pm.

“I should probably get going”, Alex said to me, “I’ve got a long day of unpacking my apartment tomorrow, and I’m going to need a good night’s rest.”

“Would you like some help? I’ve got nothing going on and I know unpacking can be a tedious task.” I asked him, secretly wanting to spend more time with him.

“Absolutely! I would appreciate that so much! Thanks, (Y/F/N), I know I can count on you! Does meeting at my place at around 10:00 AM tomorrow morning sound good?” He asked.

“It’s perfect! I’ll see you then Alex!”

We wrapped each other in another warm hug, his cheek pressed against mine. We both got the idea to kiss the other’s cheek at the same time, and accidentally managed to peck each other on the lips. We both had a look of horror on our faces when we realized what had happened, but we both laughed it off. He gave me another tight hug and then escaped into the night.

After he left, I called Stephane like I had promised. I told her every little detail about our day that I could think of. She told me about how cute she thinks we are. Her final thought on our call was: “Give it a month and you two will be madly in love with each other.”


	3. Chapter III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 6.3K
> 
> Notes from the Author: This one is a little bit longer than the others and it's pretty fluffy! 
> 
> (Y/F/N) = Your First Name
> 
> (Y/L/N)= your last name
> 
> (Y/H/C)= your hair color
> 
> Tumblr Link: https://supersonic-scientist.tumblr.com/post/619901797149163520/pretty-visitor-chapter-iii

I woke up to my alarm blaring at 7:00 am. The sun was just beginning to push over the horizon. I sat up and stretched my body. It was Sunday morning, which meant it was time to call my mom. I always call her at this time because my mother works late at night and sleeps during the day. It’s 2:00 am at home, so she should just be getting home from her shift at the hospital as an ER doctor. I fished around for my phone on the nightstand and dialed her number. It rang for a moment until she picked up.

“(Y/F/N)! Oh my god! Why didn’t you tell me that you had a boyfriend! I wanna meet this fella!” My mother yelled over the phone.

“What? I don’t have a boyfriend! What are you talking about?” I replied to her.

“Well who’s that Alex boy that you’ve been holding hands with and kissing?”, she asks.

“What? I assure you that he’s just a friend, but how do you know about him?”

“Well Steph saw the article from last night about you two and she sent it to me. It’s full of pictures of you two from yesterday!”

“Shit. I swear that I’m not dating him! I just met him on Friday! We’re just hanging out as friends!”

“Alright alright! I’ll believe you! But just make sure that you don’t get pregnant.”

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at that last statement. That’s my mother for you. She dropped the subject after that, and we talked about our usual topics. After our call, I went and found the article and was incredibly disgusted at it.

The first picture was of us walking arm in arm to the cafe. We were both smiling and looked incredibly happy. The caption read: “Alex Turner and his new beau seem absolutely smitten as they walk around London on Saturday”

The next picture was taken through the window of the cafe. Alex was on the verge of tears and my hand was stretched across the table, holding his in an attempt to comfort him. The caption read: “Alex’s (Y/H/C) beauty attempts to calm him down in a cafe. Maybe he’s still crying over Alexa?”

The third picture showed us in the thrift shop and again was taken through the window. His arms were around my shoulders as he planted a kiss to my left cheek. A smile was on my face and my hand held the green dress. The caption read: “Alex and his new beau also went to a local thrift shop on their outing. Here, they were spotted sharing a quick kiss. Alex purchased a dress for his new lover.”

The last picture was of us walking into the front of my apartment complex. We were again walking arm in arm and smiling at each other. The caption read: “The night ended with Alex going over to his lovely lady’s apartment. He stayed until about 9:00pm”

I almost wanted to vomit at what I saw. How did they get all of these pictures of us and I didn’t even notice? Were they following us around all day? Did they hear any of what we were talking about? I was disgusted, but at the same time, I knew that this was going to be my life soon if Alex and I get in a serious relationship or if my album performed well.

I decided not to dwell and instead got ready to meet Alex in an hour. I took a quick shower and put on a more comfortable outfit for the day. I was helping him unpack after all, and chances are that was going to be a lot of work. On my way out I grabbed my tool kit just in case he didn’t have tools or didn’t have his unpacked yet. I set out into the chilly London morning at around 9:40 AM for Alex’s apartment.

Once I was in the building, I searched for the elevator. It was all the way across the lobby. When I got close to it, a loud, deep voice from behind me said, in an almost monotone voice: “are you here to visit someone, ma’am?” I turned around to see a very tall man standing behind me. He wore a security uniform and held a folder in his hand.

“Um, yes! Yes, I am!”, I replied to him.

“Can I have their name?”, he replied, still monotone.

“Alex Turner, he lives up on the 20th floor.”

“And what is your name?”

“(Y/F/N) (Y/L/N)”

“Alright, I see your name on the list. You’re free to go up to his apartment. As a heads up, next time you come around, check-in at the front desk. Have a nice day, ma’am” and at that, the monotone security man left me alone.

I got into the elevator slightly shaken up. What the hell kind of apartment building has a list of who’s visiting? I just couldn’t shake how odd that was. Well, I’m assuming this is a very nice building full of nice apartments and celebrities, so maybe this was normal? I pushed the thought out of my mind as I heard the elevator ding and the doors opened on the 20th floor. I stepped off and looked for Alex’s number. When I finally found it, I reached out to knock on the door. I barely knocked once before the door flung open and Alex stood in front of me. He was dressed in navy blue jeans and a black t-shirt.

“Well, look at that! If it’s isn’t my pretty visitor!”, he said, smirking as he stood in the doorway.

“How did you answer the door so quickly?” I asked him.

“Security buzzed me and told me you were coming up”

“Oh, so that’s what all of that was about”

“Yea, a lot of famous people live in this complex, so they monitor who comes and goes. But don’t stand out there, come on in!”

When I stepped into his apartment, I realized why so many famous people lived there. His living room was pristine white with the softest carpet I’d ever seen. The room was also large, probably similar in size to my entire apartment. The wall opposite the door was comprised of floor to ceiling windows. I could see the sunrise out of it.

“Wow, your place is beautiful!” I told him, looking around at it.

“Thanks! It’ll look better once all of my furniture is out!” He said, “and speaking of furniture, I see that you’ve got a toolbox on you. Thank god! I spent last night digging in boxes for my tools, but I didn’t find them. I think I must have left them behind.”

“Well, I wasn’t sure, so I went ahead and brought them.”

“You’re on the ball, (Y/F/N)! But before we begin, I made some breakfast for us.”

I followed him into his kitchen. It continued the theme of pristine white, with light wooden floors, white cabinets, shimmering white granite countertops, and a white backsplash with all stainless-steel appliances. He didn’t have any tables or chairs set up yet, so we are our plates of scrambled eggs, pancakes, and sausage standing at the kitchen island.

“What do you think of the eggs?”, he asked me after we finished eating.

“They were delicious! I like my eggs well cooked because I hate slimy eggs”, I complimented him.

“Perfect! My friend Miles always complains about how I over scramble the eggs and make them chewy”, he said, clearly happy that I liked his eggs.

“Well, Miles obviously has poor taste”, I reply and we both shared a laugh.

I helped him do the dishes and clean up our mess from breakfast. From the looks of it, he’s already unpacked most of his kitchen. Once we were done, he leads me back into his bedroom. He opened the door to reveal his mattress sitting on the floor and his bed frame up against the wall.

“Can I request that we do this first? I really don’t enjoy sleeping on the floor!”, he said, eyeballing my tool kit.

“Absolutely, but only if we have a cuddle in it afterward”, I tease him.

“Hey, I’m down for a platonic cuddle session. I’ve been feeling pretty touched starved lately”, he replied to me. I was originally joking, but if he actually wants to cuddle, I’m interested.

His bed was a king-size, and his bed frame was a large, decorative one with a large, gray, plush fabric headboard. I thought he was kind of small for such a large bed, but I guess not. The frame itself wasn’t that difficult to put together, so it only took me half an hour. I somehow managed to get the really fucking heavy mattress on the bed by myself, and I laid down on it once it was in the bedframe. It was unbelievably soft. I shot up from the bed when I heard a voice in the doorway.

“(Y/F/N), how did you get that mattress on there all on your own? I came in to see if you needed my help, but I guess not!”, he said, a look of surprise on his face.

“Well, it wasn’t easy, but I managed to do it. It’s such a soft mattress though!”, I replied to him. He came around to the side of the bed I was on and sat down with me.

“It’s quite nice. Could I ask you to help me put some sheets on the mattress? It’s a bit difficult to do on your own, at least it is for me anyway”, he said, standing up and walking towards a box in the corner. He reached into it and pulled out a golden brown fitted bedsheet. He made his way over the opposite side of the bed as me and tossed me the other end of the sheet. It was incredibly soft to the touch.

“I’m not a fan of white bedsheets, they show stains too well”, he told me with a wink. I giggled at his naughty joke and helped him tuck the sheet onto the corners of the bed. He threw a blanket onto the bed along with a few pillows.

“I won’t make the bed quite yet since we’ll be getting into it later for a cuddle”, he said straightening the blanket out a bit, “is it alright if we cuddle after lunch? I’m feeling quite motivated now and don’t want to lose it”

I agreed to wait for a bit for our cuddling. We made our way out to the main area again to do some more work. I volunteered to set up his dining room table, the chairs for the table, and the barstools that go at one end of the island. It ended up taking about three hours to complete that project, which put us at around 2:00 pm.

We were both starving, so we decided it was a good time for lunch. We didn’t have anything spectacular for lunch since we were both pretty warm out. Our appetizer was a bowl of grapes and our main course was a classic lunch meat and deli cheese sandwich. After we had eaten, we were dragging, so it was a good thing that Alex has suggested cuddling after lunch.

Once lunch was all cleaned up, we made our way into the bedroom. We pulled up the blanket on our respective sides and slipped into the bed. We laid facing each other, smiles on our faces, and giggles flowing between us.

“Can I be the big spoon?”, I ask him.

“Yea, please!”, he responded, rolling over so that his back was facing me.  
I put my arms around him and brought the front of my body up against the back of his. I brushed his hair out of my way with my fingers. I had hoped that his fluffy, shiny hair was soft, but it turned out to be even softer than I had anticipated. It felt amazing between my fingers. I could smell his shampoo since his hair was in my face. His body was incredibly warm curled up against mine and our legs were intertwined. One of my hands rested on his chest and the other laid on his soft belly.

I was in a blissful state of comfort laying in that position, and I could tell he was too. After a while, I felt his breathing become slow and melodic, which signaled to me that Alex had fallen asleep. I looked past the sleeping body in my arms and out the window and watched the snow begin to fall outside as the wind whipped. It may have been nasty and cold outside, but inside was warm and I felt more comfortable than I had in years. I soon followed Alex into a blissful sleep.

I don’t know how long we had been asleep, but we woke up to the sound of my cell phone ringing. I reached over Alex, who was now awake and let out a displeased grunt at the sound and I scooped up my phone off of his bedside table. The caller ID read: Ariel Rechtshaid.

“Mhmhn, who’s calling?”, Alex said, still groggy from sleep.

“It’s Ariel”, I tell him.

“God fucking damnit, what does that bloody wanker want?”, Alex replied, clearly annoyed. He shifted so that he was now laying on his back, but still touching my body. I answered the phone as he spoke.

“Hello?”, I said as I answered.

“Hellooooo (Y/F/N)! Just calling to let you know that we’re meeting in studio 6 tomorrow at 10:00 AM!”, Ariel enthusiastically yelled over the line.

“Ok, awesome, thanks Ariel”, I replied.

“No problem! Next, I need to call your boyfriend and tell him when and where we’re working tomorrow” Ariel said, with extra emphasis on the word boyfriend.

“Ariel, he’s not my boyfriend, and I’ve got him right here. Give me a second and I’ll tell him”, I said, gently getting Alex’s attention by rubbing his belly so that I could tell him when and where to meet tomorrow.

“OH MY GOD! YOU TWO ARE TOGETHER AGAIN TODAY?”, Ariel yells in shock.

“Yea, I’m helping him unpack his stuff. We were taking a nice nap together too before you called and woke us up!” I said.

“You guys are already sleeping together? I hope you’re using a condom!”, Ariel said while laughing. At that Alex grabbed my phone from my hand.

“Oh, shut the fuck up you crusty scumbag”, Alex said to Ariel in a joking manner.

“Bye you bloody fucking piece of shit”, Ariel replied to Alex. At that I snatched my phone back.

“Bye Ariel”

“Bye (Y/F/N) and (Y/F/N)‘s boyfriend”, and at that he hung up.Alex and I both took a deep breath and let out a sigh.

“How long have we been here?”, he asked me. I glanced at the clock on my phone.

“Well, it’s about 4:30, so we’ve been passed out for the past two hours”, I tell him as I set my phone back down.

“Well, it was a wonderful two hours”, he said. The sweetest grin crept across his face. I smiled back at him and used my hand to brush all of his long, messy bed hair back into its spot on his head. He gave a quiet appreciative hum as a thanks.

“We should probably get back to work”, I say, giving a gentle poke to his belly.

“We really don’t have to”, he replied to me, raising both of his eyebrows and giving me puppy eyes in an attempt to keep me in bed with him.

“Yea, but if I don’t then you’ll have to do all of this work on your own”

“I guess you’ve got a good point.”

At that, we got up out of bed. The world felt so cold against my skin when I separated from Alex’s warm, snuggly body. I could have spent the whole day cuddling with him, but alas I had a job to do. Alex began pulling the bedsheets straight and putting the comforter into place. I was in the corner of the room pulling out a throw blanket and decorative pillows for Alex to adorn his bed with. He had a lovely silky ocean blue comforter with a frilly light blue throw blanket on top and pillows to match the ensemble. I could tell that he had quite the eye for decoration. As I pulled out pillows, I noticed a small box near the bottom of the larger packing box. It was about the size of my palm and had some fancy French name across the top in shiny silver lettering.

“Hey Alex, what’s this?”, I ask him, holding up the box. He walked over to where I was, and I saw the joy drop from his face when he saw the box. He let out a small sigh as he opened it, revealing a small felt box that looked as though it would hold an expensive piece of jewelry inside. He delicately opened the box to reveal a ring. The ring was quite spectacular. It was a silver ring with a fairly large emerald in the middle with a halo of small diamonds surrounding it. It was one of the most stunning rings I’d ever seen.

“This was the engagement ring I got for Alexa. It’s an antique from the 1940s. I spent months trying to find her the perfect ring. She wasn’t interested in the classic diamond look, but I knew she liked emeralds because she told me that her favorite stone was emeralds”, he told me, and I could see the tears welling up in his eyes.

“Well, I think it’s a beautiful ring. You did a lovely job picking the perfect ring for her. I’m so sorry that you didn’t get to put the ring on its intended finger”, I rubbed his shoulder as he spoke. 

At that, tears began to stream down his face. I immediately took him into my arms and he quietly sobbed into my shoulder. I rubbed circles in his back as he cried. He took a few minutes to stop crying and bring his breathing back to normal. After he had calmed down a bit, he spoke.

“You know, this ring is the last thing of Alexa’s I still have and all it does is make me upset. Would you want it?”, he asked me, placing the box in my hand.

“But Alex, I’m assuming this was an expensive ring, I’m sure you could sell it- “, I began as I placed the box back in his hand, but he cut me off.

“No, I couldn’t sell it. If I did word would get around that Alexa and I actually broke up because she declined my proposal and that would be a huge publicity mess for both of us. And it really wasn’t that expensive that you should worry about it. Besides, it looks better on a pretty girl’s finger than it does in a box in the back of my sock drawer”, he retorted while placing the ring box back in my hand, “my only request is that you don’t tell everyone how you got it.”

“You’ve got a deal”, I replied. He smiled back at me.

I opened the box and removed the ring. I slid it onto my right ring finger, but it was slightly too large. It ended up fitting perfectly onto my right middle finger. I took a second to admire the beautiful thing on my finger.

“I had it check over and reinforced in the weak spots, so you’ll be fine to wear it a lot and won’t have to worry about damaging it”, he told me, obviously picking up on how in love I was with the ring.

“That’s perfect because I was planning on wearing it a lot”, I said, smirking at him.

After I was done drooling over the ring, Alex and I finished unpacking his bedroom. He worked on setting up his in-suite bathroom while I unpacked and put away his clothes. I really enjoyed this job because I was able to see all of the clothes he wears on stage and in photoshoots that I recognize. I pulled out leather jackets, denim jackets, lightweight jackets, winter coats, plenty of t-shirts, button-down shirts, sweaters, jeans, and slacks. There were also a couple of suits in there. I couldn’t help myself and I slipped on one of his leather jackets. It was quite a nice fit for me. I admired myself in the full-length mirror that sat on the floor, waiting to be hung. As I checked myself out in his mirror, I decided that if we started dating, I’d be stealing his clothes regularly. Before I had the opportunity to take off the jacket, I heard a voice behind me.

“You look fantastic, love”, I heard, and I spun around to see Alex looking over me in his jacket, “it’s quite a nice fit too.”

“Sorry, I was messing around,” I started, taking off the jacket and putting it back on the hanger, “I really love a nice leather jacket.” He smiled at me as I placed the jacket back in his closet.

“So do I. When we signed and got money for the first time, I splurged and bought that very leather jacket you were wearing. Got it custom-tailored and everything. In the end, I think it ended up costing me about £400 (~$500).” He said as he motioned to the jacket.

He had left the bathroom to get a screwdriver, and once he found one in my toolkit he returned to his bathroom and I went back to hanging up clothes. I finished up one box of clothes and moved onto the next. There were only a few pairs of pants and some sweaters in this box, and the bottom consisted of his pajamas, undershirts, underwear, and socks. He had a dresser in his closet for these things, so I carefully packed them into the drawers. I put his fun patterned long socks to one side of the drawer and his short plain socks on the other. In the next drawer, I carefully folded his boxers and placed them standing up so that he’d be able to see all of them at once. The next drawer contained his undershirts, and the last contained his pajamas. I was a bit jealous of his pajama collection. I usually would sleep in an old t-shirt and sweatpants, but he had quite a few matching sets of silk pajamas. I brought it up when he came back into the bedroom.

“You have some really nice pajamas. They’re so soft and pretty”, I told him. He laughed a little bit.

“Thanks love, but I haven’t been wearing them lately. When I sleep alone, I usually just do it in the nude, and since I’ve been living alone, I’ve forfeited the pajamas”, he tells me with a slight blush to his cheeks.

“That sounds nice, but what if someone tries to break into your apartment and you don’t have time to put clothes on?”, I asked him.

“Well, then I guess that they’ll just have to see me naked. If that doesn’t scare them off, I don’t know what would!” He replied and we both shared a good laugh.

Before he left, I asked him where his spare bed sheets go since I had just discovered a whole box of them. He told me to fold them and place them on the shelf above his clothes in his closet, so I did exactly that with them. It was a pretty easy job and there wasn’t too much to it. He had about 5 sets in total and I got them nicely put away. Once the bedsheets were out of the box, I noticed that the next layer consisted of curtains. I dug around looking for a set that would look good in his bedroom when I stumbled across something that felt incerdibly soft. I pulled it out and discovered that it was a teddy bear. The bear had short, curly golden fur and it wore a blue and white sailor costume. It looked pretty worn, with some discoloration on its costume and stitch marks in various places to fix rips. I laid it on his bed and continued pulling out curtains.

“Hey! You found Herbert!”, I heard Alex yell. I turned around to find Alex with a huge smile on his face cradling the sailor bear, “I didn’t find him in the box with my other stuffed animals and I was worried he’d been left behind. I’ve had him since I was a little kid and he’s still my favorite.”

“He was in the box with your bedsheets and curtains”, I told him.

“Oh, thank god. I was crying when I thought I’d lost him. I like to cuddle him when I don’t feel well so I’ve really been missing him”, Alex said. He looked so precious snuggling with his bear. Alex’s eyes looked to his phone that was sitting on the bed. The time read 7:34pm.

“You know, I’m feeling pretty hungry and don’t want to make any food, wanna order takeout for dinner?” He asked me, carefully positioning Herbert back down on the bed. 

“Yes, cooking sounds like a lot after all of the work we’ve done today”, I replied. We decided to order Italian from a place up the street. We were told half an hour until our food would be here.

“Are you ok if I go out on to the balcony and have a smoke for a minute?”, he asked, pulling a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from a drawer in the kitchen island.

“Sure, but only if I can go outside with you can check out your balcony”, I reply to him. He smirked and made his way to the living room wall that was completely comprised of windows. He pulled on one and it slid open, and I realized that it was a sliding glass door. He stepped out and I followed right behind him. It was freezing outside, but the snow had stopped. His balcony was quite large. I estimated it to be about 10 feet long and 6 feet wide. To each side was a metal wall and on the other side the railing was glass with metal supports. There was nothing on the balcony except a small glass ashtray on the floor by the door. Alex carefully pulled a cigarette from the almost full pack and placed it between his lips before sliding the pack back into his pocket. He shielded the tip of the cigarette as he lit it with his blue lighter.

“This is one of the not so great habits I picked up from Alexa”, he said as smoke blew from his nose and mouth, “I’ve been trying to quit. I had one this morning right when I woke up and this is only the second one I’ve had today.”

“Quitting can be pretty difficult”, I said, and then I went into light detail about the science of nicotine and how it binds to receptors in the brain. He looked a bit confused, but he seemed to be following along.

“Wow”, he began, putting out his cigarette in the ashtray because I had been talking for so long, “You’re incredibly smart. Why exactly did you choose music over that? You could be curing all kinds of diseases, but instead, you choose to make music?”, he asked, a genuine curiosity in his eyes.

“Well, there are plenty of incredibly talented scientists who will find these treatments with or without me. But, if I don’t make my music, then no one will”, I told him, and he nodded.

We walked back into his apartment because we were both shivering. He ran back to his bedroom to get a blanket while I turned on the TV and found something to watch. He came back with a thick, soft blanket. We curled up underneath it, trying to warm up. His legs were across my lap and he was so close that he was almost sitting in my lap. My arm was across his back and his arms were around my abdomen. He laid his head on my shoulder and I used my free hand to stroke his hair. We sat like that for about 20 minutes until the doorbell rang.

Alex reluctantly pulled himself from my grip and went to answer the door. While he talked to the delivery person and paid for our dinner, I folded the blanket we had been laying under. Alex placed the food containers on the kitchen island and pulled two plates from the cabinet. We sat on the bar side of the island and had chicken parm with spaghetti and gnocchi soup. While we ate, he told me all about the technical stuff that goes on in the studio and what to expect.  
He told me that I’m very lucky to be working with Ariel. Alex said that out of all the producers that he’s worked with, he thinks that Ariel is the easiest to work with.

“He’s very knowledgeable and skilled at what he does, but he isn’t a complete douchebag. He understands that it’s your music and you make the final call. He won’t make any major changes without your consent. He’s also keen on taking any suggestions you have and attempting to incorporate them. He’s also just fun to work with. He makes lots of silly jokes and one time he let me ride on his back to the studio canteen!”, Alex said to me.

Alex told me all about the recording process and how it is standard for different parts of songs to be recorded separately and then combined at the mixing desk. He went into detail on how that works for quite a while.

“Oh!”, he said, stopping his train of thought, “before I forget, do you need a ride to the studio tomorrow? It’d be easier to load your instruments into my car than it would be to lug them onto the tube.”

“Sure!”, I replied.

“Perfect! I was hoping you’d say yes just so that I’d have an excuse to spend more time with you”, he said with his eyes downcast and a big smile on his face.

“Awwwww!”, I exclaimed, wrapping my arms around him, “I’m glad that I’m not the only one desperate to hang out. It’s also going to be so much fun working with you in the studio!” I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and kissed him on the cheek. His face went red and his smile grew even more. He lifted his head slightly. I brushed the strands of stray hair from his face so that I could get a good look at his delicate features. He was beautiful and there was no doubt about it in my mind.

“Alex, I really like you”, I professed.

“I really like you too”, he replied

“I don’t want to make any moves yet, we’ve only known each other for three days, but at the same time, I want to make you mine. To promise you that I’ll be there for you and care for you and love you until the end of time”, I tell him, and I can see the tears welling up in his eyes.

“(Y/F/N), I would love that for the future, but right now I’m still hurting. I’m still at the point where I burst into tears and cry myself to sleep every few days, but when I’m ready to move on, I’ll make sure you know”, he said to me, and I took him into my arms. I let him sob into my shirt for a few minutes. When he finally finished crying, he looked up into my eyes and gave a weak smile.

“Before you leave for tonight”, he started, giving me his best puppy eyes and pouty lip, “can you help me get my record player set up?”

I ruffled his fluffy hair and he laughed. It wasn’t very difficult to set up, it’s just that it’s easier when you have an extra set of hands to help figure out which wire belongs to what component and where it needs to plug in. After some troubleshooting, we managed to get it working. Alex put on a smooth jazz record and we sat down on the couch to enjoy one last cuddle before I left for the night.

I laid my head on his chest and he placed one arm around my shoulders and with his other hand, he stroked my hair. I could have fallen asleep in this position. After a day of assembling furniture and unboxing his possessions, I was exhausted. His apartment looks more like a home now, which also benefited me since I had a feeling that I’d be spending plenty of time here. We had both dosed off but were awaken by Alex’s antique clock playing its song. Somehow, it was 10:00 pm. It didn’t feel like I had just spent 12 hours here with Alex. I would have loved to spend another 12 hours with him, but I needed to get some sleep. I sat up from Alex’s arms and stretched my back.

“I better be going. It’s getting late and tomorrow is going to be a big day”, I told him. We both stood up and made our way to the door. I went to pull my coat out of his closet, but when I turned, I noticed it was snowing hard outside. Alex noticed too. It wasn’t supposed to snow hard today and I remembered that it got significantly colder than they had predicted, so I didn’t bring the right coat. This was going to be an awful walk back to my apartment.

“Hey love, why don’t you borrow some of my stuff, so you don’t get frostbite”, Alex said as he dug through a box. He pulled out a winter coat that went past my knees, a red, yellow, and blue hat, a pair of black mittens, and a blue and white scarf. He sets them down on the table that sat by the front door. He opened up his arms and gave me his best puppy eyes. My heart skipped a beat as I fell into his embrace. No words were exchanged just silence, and the sound of his breathing. It was a tight hug that lasted much longer than any other.

“We better get you out the door before it gets any worse out there”, Alex said as he broke the hug. He helped me wrap the scarf around my face and tuck it into the coat and hat. By the time we were done, all that could be seen of me was my eyes. The scarf smelled strongly of his cologne, so I wasn’t complaining.

“Before I go”, I began, nervous to ask him, “can I kiss you?”

“Yes!”, he replied, and he pulled down my scarf and pressed a kiss to my lips. It was a quick one, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The feeling of his soft lips against mine sent my head spinning. Someday, I hoped that every morning I would be able to wake up to those lips on mine.

We said our goodbyes and slipped out his front door. It ended up being 10:30 pm before I left. He was picking me up at 8:30 in the morning, so that meant only 10 hours until I got to see him again. I had been apart from him for only 10 minutes and I already missed his company. When I got home, I shrugged off his coat and placed the rest of what he lent me by the front door so I wouldn’t forget to give it back to him in the morning.

I slumped down onto the couch and grabbed my phone, it was almost 11:00 pm, but I needed to talk to someone. I dialed Stephanie’s number. I admired the beautiful emerald ring that sat on my finger while I waited for her to answer. As soon as she answered, I said the thought that had been nagging at me all day.

“I’m so fucking screwed. I’ve fallen madly in love with him and I met him three days ago. I’m fucking insane!” I yell through the line

“Woah, Woah, Woah, what’s going on (Y/F/N)?”, Stephanie said.

“I spent all day with Alex again. Remember how I said I didn’t want to date ever? Well, that’s out the window now”, I said.

“Awwwww! (Y/F/N) wants a boyfriend! You really aren’t a heartless soulless bitch!”, Stephanie laughed.

“I guess not! And also, while I was over there, he gave me the engagement ring that was for Alexa. He said that it was making him too sad to hold onto. I personally wish it was a real engagement ring and we were actually getting married!” I told Stephanie.

“Oh my god is the ring pretty?”, Stephanie asked.

“Very! It’s a lovely emerald with a halo of diamonds. It looks fancy but doesn’t scream engagement ring”, I said.

“Send me a picture! I wanna see it!”, she yelled.

“Don’t worry, I will!” I replied to her. After that, I changed the subject and she told me about her life for a bit. Nothing too exciting, just some talk about her mom, boyfriend, school, and whatever else she needed to say. She ended up circling back to Alex and she wanted a full description of him. I told her everything and she told me that he sounds like the perfect boyfriend. We ended up talking for half an hour. If felt nice to have been able to tell someone else about what’s going on. The call helped me make an important realization:

I really did loved Alex, and I wanted to mak him mine.


	4. Chapter IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 4.0K
> 
> Notes from the Author: Things start progressing here! 
> 
> (Y/F/N) = Your First Name
> 
> (Y/L/N)= Your Last Name
> 
> Tumblr Link: https://supersonic-scientist.tumblr.com/post/620542222336655360/pretty-visitor-chapter-iv

When my alarm went off at 7:30 AM, I excitedly bounced out of bed. Today was going to be one of the biggest days of my life. Today was the first day of recording my new album at the studio and I was going to work with Alex on it. I picked up my phone from the nightstand to see if there were any important notifications that I might have missed while I slept. The only notification was a text message from Alex sent at 2:14 am. The poor guy must have stayed awake all night. The text read:

I’ve got some guitars, amps, and keyboards that provide really interesting sounds that you may want to use. I’ll bring them with me and you can play with them and see what you like. I’m really excited to work with you tomorrow! :)

That’s Alex for you. Always so thoughtful and adorable. He always considers others. I texted him back:

Awww, thank you Alex! I’m sure I’ll be able to put them to good use. Can’t wait to see you in an hour ;)

I left my bedroom to make my breakfast with a huge smile on my face. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy while eating cereal at 7:30 in the morning. We’re going to be so cheesy and in love all day, and I bet we’ll drive everyone else a little bit mad. That’s ok, though, we’ll be enjoying ourselves.

Today I was going to be recording, so I decided to dress a bit more fashionably than I usually would. I threw on a black and white striped shirt and some black, acid wash jeans. To top it off, I put on my old, worn leather jacket. I pulled my hair back into a tight ponytail. To top the look off, I slid onto my finger the emerald ring Alex had given me yesterday. At about 8:25, I received another text from Alex:

Hey (Y/F/N), I’m outside! Whenever you’re ready!

I grabbed my guitars and the coat Alex had lent me the night before. I had stuffed the gloves and hat in the pockets and his scarf was wrapped around my neck. I flew to the elevator and out the front of my building. Sure enough, there sat the familiar black Mini in one of the pickup parking spaces. Alex saw me approach and he stepped out of the car. He waved at me over the roof of it and I waved back.

“Hiya (Y/F/N)!”, he yelled while excitedly waving.

“Good morning Alex!”, I replied.

He looked like an overly excited child as he scurried to the back of the car to meet me. He enveloped me in one of his warm, loving hugs, gently shaking me back and forth. I hugged him back as well as I could with a guitar in each hand.

Once he set me free from his embrace, he opened the back hatch of the car for me to put my things in. He had the back seats down to accommodate all of the equipment. There were already 3 keyboards, 2 amps, and 4 guitars before I put my instruments back there. Alex helped me load them so that they wouldn’t fall out of the back of the car when we opened it again.

Soon, we were on our way to the studio. I thought leaving an hour and a half early was slightly excessive, but then I saw how bad the traffic was. Once we pulled into the main road that took us to the heart of London, traffic was just a slow crawl. It was going to take for fucking ever, but I’m glad that I had Alex to talk to.

“Alex, how long have you been living in London?”, I asked him, reaching over to lay my hand over his knee.

“Well, I moved here in October of 2006 after my first album did well. So that would be, a little over two years of living in London now. When I first moved here, I got myself a house on the outskirts. It was nice when Alexa lived with me, but a bit too roomy for just little old me. I think I much prefer my apartment”, he told me, smiling.

“Awwwww, that’s so sweet! Your apartment is quite nice. I wish I could move in!”, I said, joking.

“Well, maybe one day you will! If we decide to get serious, I’d be more than happy to have you live with me. But at this time, I’d you’d like to spend the night sometime, I’d love to have you over. We could watch scary movies all night!”, he said with a laugh.

“You know, I think I’ll have to take you up on that offer! I’m too chicken to watch scary moves alone. And then afterward, you can cuddle me and make me feel safe”, I replied to him.

“I think you’ll be the one having to do the cuddling to make me feel safe. Scary movies usually get me pretty worked up. There’s been many times when I’ve watched them with the rest of the Arctic Monkeys and Matt has to turn it off because I ended up clinging to Nick crying! I’m pretty soft, not going to lie”, he said while laughing.

“Awww, you poor thing. It’s alright to be soft, you know!”, I told him, now rubbing his knee.

“Yea, but I’m a bit softer than most. Right after we signed, Matt wanted to go to a gentlemen’s club. We were 19 at the time and I was like ‘sure, why not?’. Well, I don’t think I really knew what a gentlemen’s club was. I thought it was more comparable to a sports bar. I quickly learned how wrong I was. We get in there, and there’s a stripper up on the stage doing her thing. And then there were all of these grotesque men in there demanding lap dances. It was pretty traumatizing, and I ended up writing ‘Fright Lined Dining Room’ about it”, he said and we both laughed at how naive he was.

“My god, Alex! Had you never heard of a gentlemen’s club?”, I replied to him, still laughing.

“I had heard of them, but I’d never been to one and didn’t really know what happened at one. It was still an interesting experience. I was watching a stripper pole dance and I was in awe. She was wearing this fancy lingerie set that glittered in the light as she danced, and she was an amazing dancer. I think she saw how intently I was watching her because she turned to me when she took her top off. I was not expecting that to happen! My face went so red and I instinctively covered my eyes. I didn’t see her reaction, but I bet she was thinking, ‘what the actual fuck is wrong with this guy!’”, he said, followed by more laughter.

“What the fuck Al”, I said, gently slapping his knee, “did you at least tip her well?”

“I didn’t know you were supposed to tip at the time! But Matt gave her quite a bit, so I guess that makes up for it”, he said, still laughing.

I didn’t know that being stuck in traffic could be so enjoyable. In total, it took us about an hour to get across London to the studio, and that hour was incredibly fun. We talked about all kinds of random things and laughed hysterically over each other’s funny stories. To tell you the truth, I was a little bit sad when we pulled into the studio lot.

We were about half an hour early, but Alex said that we’d need that extra time to start getting the studio set up for our recording session. Alex went inside and got a cart to put all of our instruments on while I started pulling them out of the trunk and leaning them against the side of the car. We loaded up everything and made our way to studio 6. A piece of paper in a plastic slot on the door read:

Reserved (Y/F/N) (Y/L/N) Recording Session

“Ay look (Y/F/N), it’s you!”, Alex said as he pointed to the sign.

“Oh my god, I’m famous!”, I yelled, and he laughed.

I opened the door and Alex pushed the cart of instruments in. No one else was there yet. I glanced around at the room. The room I was in last time had some of the equipment, but this one had everything. The mixing desk was giant and the studio space right in front of it was even bigger. Alex went right into the studio and began unpacking instruments, but I stayed in the mixing room. I couldn’t help getting emotional. This is what I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid, and now here I was. Alex must have noticed because he came back into the mixing room and placed his arm around my back.

“You ok, love?”, he asked, a look of worry painted his pretty face.

“Yea, I’m fine. Just a little emotional. I can’t believe that I’m actually living my dream”, I tell him.

“It is very awe-inspiring the first time you’re in a room like this, but soon, this will feel like home. The first few days will make you feel somewhat intimidated, but soon you’ll come to love being here”, he said to me.

I followed him into the studio and helped him get everything set up. Before too long, the rest of the team began to arrive. First was Jimmy, a tall, lanky man who was so pale he looked like he might be a vampire. He was here to help with guitar, bass, and piano. He didn’t speak very much. He just acknowledged us with a nod.

Next was the drummer, Lindsey, who was the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. Her dark skin glistened under the harsh studio light and her hair was perfectly styled into two buns at each side of her head. She was also incredibly kind. The first thing she said to me was “Are you (Y/F/N)? I’m so excited to be here! There are so many men in this industry and I’m so happy to be working with a woman!”

After her, the engineers and string section slowly trickled in, and last came Ariel. Once everyone was there, we began our work. Everyone was very shocked at how prepared I was in what I wanted my songs to sound like and how I wanted to record them. One of the engineers told me that most first-timers don’t even have a clue what to do in the studio. I had done so much research on the process of recording music and I had Alex to answer some questions I had, which is why I started so knowledgeable. I was also very surprised at how fast everyone learned the music I gave them. Within an hour or two it seemed like everyone had it committed to memory.

Everyone was also super responsive to my suggestions. I don’t know why I was shocked; this was my album after all. It was very surprising how well everything and everyone worked together. The work was fun, but Alex and I also had fun. There was no way that no one else was at least slightly annoyed by our antics. Alex was very relaxed while playing. It was stunning to see him so blissed out while playing my music. It seemed as though Alex felt his best with an instrument in his hands.

When he wasn’t in work mode, though, he was slightly hyper. We worked until about 1:00pm every day and then took a lunch break. Alex seldom walked himself to the studio canteen, preferring to be carried. Most of the time Ariel would give him a piggyback ride or I would carry him bridal style, but a couple of times Lindsey, who lifted weights as a hobby, would throw him over her shoulder and carry him like a sack of potatoes.

He would always sit next to me while we ate, and we’d chat. The seats at the tables were two long benches, one on either side of the table. Alex and I would usually sit much too close to each other, and others took notice. Ariel enjoyed poking fun at us.

“You two lovebirds just need to get married already”, he’d say to us.

“We’re not even dating, you dingbat! We’re just friends who enjoy cuddling!”, One of us would yell back.

Back in the studio, he would also cause a bit of chaos. From time to time, we would take a 15-minute break if something got stressful or if someone was having a hard time learning their part. It was a nice opportunity to decompress and start fresh. Alex would use the time to play the role of comic relief. Even though Jimmy was significantly stronger and bigger than him, he and Alex would gently wrestle with each other. Alex almost always lost, but he kept at it.

While those two caused trouble, I’d usually chat with Lindsey and the ladies from the string section. I really enjoyed having them around. Although I appreciated having big names in my studio like Alex and Ariel, I think I valued having women around more. I’ve always hated being the only woman in a room, and these ladies made sure I felt comfortable and safe in this new environment.

Every day for about an hour after lunch, I noticed that Alex would disappear from the studio, but I never really said anything about it. I thought that he might be using that time to go out to his car and let out any pent-up emotions since he was still recovering from his breakup. I didn’t realize what he was up to until day four of recording. During the time he was gone, I was in the mixing room with Ariel reviewing some tracks. After we listened, I took off the headphones and we discussed what we had listened to. Ariel seemed to talk in a quiet voice, so I followed suit. I wasn’t sure why, but I assumed there must have been a good reason.

We talked over the track for a few minutes until I heard the shuffling sound of someone shifting on the couch behind us followed by gentle snoring. I turned around to see Alex, laying on his side on the couch with his arms up towards the arm of the couch, fast asleep. He looked like a literal angel laying like that. He looked so peaceful like that; I couldn’t help but watch him.

“Awwwww, he’s so precious”, I said to myself, but Ariel picked up on what I said.

“Yea, he does that every day after lunch”, Ariel said, “if baby doesn’t get his midday nap, he gets cranky later.”

We both share a sneaky laugh, but it was enough to wake up Alex. As soon as our laugh was over, I saw Alex start to stir. He made some disapproving grunts as he shuffled and opened his eyes. He immediately picked up on the fact that we were watching him, and he didn’t look very happy.

“Are you lot watching me sleep now?”, he asked, rubbing his eyes.

“Yes”, I said as I wheeled my chair over to his couch and took his face in my hands, “you are just so cute when you sleep, I couldn’t bear to look away.”

At that, I planted a kiss on his beautiful lips. He blushed at the compliment and the kiss he just received. We stayed in that position for what felt like a minute before Ariel pulled us out of our little world

“Get a room you two!”, he said as he stood up and grabbed Alex from the couch.

“Hey! Put me down!”, Alex yelled through giggles as he tried to pull himself from Ariel’s grip.

“Give me back my boy!”, I yelled back, grabbing Alex and pulling him from Ariel’s grip. I held Alex bridal style and he blew a raspberry at Ariel.

I sat back down in my chair with Alex positioned comfortably in my lap. He laid his head on my shoulder and I gently stroked his arm as he drifted back into sleep. Ariel and I went back to listening to the tracks while Alex finished his nap in my arms.

He was his usual bubbly, ruckus causing self until the end of the second week. On Thursday, he hadn’t been feeling like himself. He was awfully calm and quiet all day and his usually one-hour nap lasted almost three hours. I was incredibly worried about him, but he insisted that he was fine.

“I just have a little cold!”, he insisted, “I’ll be good as new by tomorrow!”

When tomorrow rolled around, he was not good as new. When I got into his car that morning to go to the studio, he was as white as a ghost and his cheeks and nose were flushed red. His throat was sore to the point that he could barely speak. I brushed the long strands of hair from his forehead and placed the palm of my hand against it. Sure enough, he felt like he had a fever. He continued to insist that he was fine, but I did not believe him one bit. I ended up calling Ariel and telling him that Alex and I weren’t coming into the studio. I shuffled Alex upstairs to my apartment to care for him.

I had him change into some of my pajamas and I got him comfortable in my bed. I gave him some honey lemon tea to soothe his throat and some fever reducers to bring his body temperature down. Even though he was burning up, he was shivering and asked me to bring him more blankets. By midday, he was continuing to get worse and the fever reducers did nothing to help bring down his fever. I realized that the care he needed was beyond what I could provide, so I decided it was time for him to go to the doctor.

I drove us in his car to his doctor’s office a little after noon. He was pretty weak, so I scooped him up and carried him inside. The receptionist gave me strange looks when I came to her counter cradling my shivering, shaggy-haired boy. When we finally saw the doctor, she swabbed Alex’s nose and determined that he had type B influenza. She sent us out with a prescription for an antiviral. Alex waited in the car while I ran into the pharmacy to pick up his prescription, along with some more tea and a bar of dark chocolate to cheer him up.

A few hours after taking the first round of antivirals, Alex started to perk up like a wilted flower after it’s been watered. My bed was a bit small for both of us and Alex didn’t have any of his things, so we decided to move over to Alex’s apartment for the night. He was more comfortable in his own bed with Herbert the sailor teddy bear tucked in between his arms and chest. He felt too sick to eat anything, but I was able to coax some steamed vegetables into him for dinner. He ended up going to bed at 9:00pm that night. He couldn’t sleep very well since he was having muscle aches and his throat was still sore. I stayed with him all night and tended to any need that he had. By the next morning, he was feeling somewhat better, and by Monday morning he felt well enough to return to the studio.

While that was the first time we’d spent the night together, it wasn’t rare that we spent the evenings together. We’d usually wrap up at the studio at 5:00pm, and after that Alex and I would go home together. Every other night we’d go to my place, and the other nights we’d go to his. The exception was one Thursday night when he went to the pub with the rest of Arctic Monkeys and Miles Kane. He invited me along, but I declined. I thought it would be good for him to get some time away from me and spend it with the boys.

We also spent all of the weekends together. We rarely did anything exciting, but just having his company was amazing. On Saturday evenings, we’d go out on a ‘date’. Usually, he’d take me to some high-class restaurant, and then afterward we’d go home and drink an entire bottle of wine. Sundays were usually spend doing housework. On one particular Sunday, we went on a little trip to a plant nursery. Alex had seen the plants that I kept in my apartment and he wanted some of his own. He ended up buying a four-foot-tall monstera and a cute little barrel cactus.

When we’d hang out, it was usually pretty calm. We’d play some records, make dinner, cuddle, and talk. I learned so much about him in those few weeks from our time alone together. I discovered that he really was a sweet boy. That wasn’t an act that he put on. He also learned so much about me. By the end of that three weeks, we had shown our true selves to each other and it didn’t scare either of us away. I took it as a good sign.

In total, it took a month to get my album, ‘The Age of the Understatement’, ready. It was a pretty short amount of time, but we still produced an amazing piece of music. The first three weeks consisted of recording, and the last week was when we did the final mixing, assembled the order of the songs, and pulled out a few singles. When we were mixing, I went to the studio alone. Alex would still pick me up and drop me off, and we’d still hang out afterward.

During that last week, Alex and I began to feel a bit different about each other. It was clear that we were both ready to move on to the next stage of our relationship. On the last day of mixing, I felt so victorious. My album was finished and in six weeks it would be released. In two weeks, I’d be releasing the single from the album.

Alex picked me up that afternoon and greeted me with a dozen red roses. He took me back to his place and he surprised me with a small party of everyone who helped me with the album. It was so much fun to pop the champagne and chat with everyone once again.

After everyone left and the mess was cleaned up, Alex and I ended up cuddling in bed. My head was placed on his shoulder and our arms and legs were entwined. I listened to his heartbeat, and it began to quicken. Before I had time to ponder it, I felt Alex’s slender fingers under my chin, adjusting my face so that I could look into his eyes.

“Hey (Y/F/N), I really love ya. I was thinking that… maybe… I could… or uh… we could… um…… do ya wanna be my girlfriend and I’ll be your boyfriend?”, he nervously asked me.

“Yes! I’d love to be your girlfriend and I’ll gladly let you be my boyfriend!”, I replied to him, squeezing him and bringing my lips up to meet his. This kiss wasn’t like our usual innocent kisses. This was deeper. I’d never kissed someone like that, but I never wanted to stop. I couldn’t believe this was real. The boy I’d been falling in love with for the last month was finally mine.


	5. Chapter V

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 3.1K
> 
> (Y/F/N) = Your First Name
> 
> (Y/L/N)= Your Last Name
> 
> Tumblr Link: https://supersonic-scientist.tumblr.com/post/621180451847045120/pretty-visitor-chapter-v

When I woke up in the morning, I was confused. The first thing I felt was a pulsing headache, which reminded me of how much I’d drank at our little celebration we had to commemorate the completion of the album. Drinking like that was so out of character for me, and I regretted it. I wasn’t sure where I was. I didn’t remember going home, and I wouldn’t just spend the night at Alex’s on a whim. It took a minute for my senses to kick in and for me to realize where I was. The pristine white ceiling fan spun above me, and I could feel the soft sheets and blankets against my skin. I must have stayed at Alex’s last night.

I rolled over in bed to find him, but his place in the bed was empty. The only remanence of his existence was a small clump of black hairs on his white pillowcase, his smell engulfing me from the sheets, and Herbert the bear laying directly below the pillow. On his nightstand was a large glass of ice water, two ibuprofen pills in a teacup, and a blue sticky note. The note said “good morning sunshine!” In Alex’s messy handwriting. I took the pills and chugged the ice water before getting out of bed and trying to locate Alex.

I stood up and looked in his mirror. I made the realization that I was wearing a set of Alex’s fancy pajamas. The shiny red silk hugged my body in all the right ways, and I looked quite sexy. I undid a few buttons on the shirt to expose my cleavage. Thankfully, the mirror was short and I couldn’t see my face in it. I opened the bedroom door and was greeted by the smell of food. I followed it into the kitchen where Alex was making our breakfast.

“Well look at you! If it’s isn’t my amazing rockstar girlfriend!”, Alex announced when I walked into the room.

I had almost forgotten that we became official the previous night, and him calling me his girlfriend made my heart burst with joy. I went over to where he was at the stove and wrapped my arms around him.

“And look at my angelic rockstar boyfriend!”, I replied to him. Our lips met for an instant and I felt like a giddy child.

“Sorry about keeping you here last night”, Alex said, “you had quite a few drinks and letting you go home made me nervous, so I decided to keep you here.”

“You’re ok Alex! I quite enjoy sleeping in your bed. I also love your pajamas!”, I replied to him, posing in the red pajamas.

“Sorry about that! I didn’t think it would be nice of me to leave you in your clothes to sleep, so I put you in some of my pajamas. I promise I kept my eyes closed as I helped you change!”, he said with an innocent twinge to his voice.

“I assumed you dressed me because I’m still in my bra, and no sane woman sleeps in a bra!”, I announced, and he laughed.

For breakfast, he made us avocado toast with scrambled eggs and bacon. I still felt pretty shitty, but I felt a million times better after eating. It gave me enough energy to at least function. Once we were done, I convinced Alex to go back to bed and cuddle with me. It was my turn to be the little spoon. His bed was so large and soft, and I was so warm wrapped up in his loving embrace that I could have stayed there in that position forever.

Of course, this cuddling was less innocent than when we were just friends. After a while, I ended up lying flat on my back and Alex crawled up to lay on top of my body. His face was mere inches from mine and soon we were embroiled in a heated kiss. My tongue explored his mouth and my hands roamed his body and played with his soft locks of hair. Pretty soon, though we both fell asleep. We were up very late the night before due to the party and the loving that we did afterward.

I woke up a few hours later securely tucked into Alex’s arms. We laid facing each other with Alex’s head being positioned right above mine. My head was against his chest and I could hear his heartbeat and breathing. Both were still slow and melodic, suggesting to me that he was still asleep. The alarm clock on his nightstand said it was nearing noon. He looked so precious while he slept, but I knew he’d need to be woken up soon. I decided to use a gentler method of waking him up. I slowly and carefully raised my hand to his cheek and began to gently stroke it.

“Alex, Alex?”, I quietly cooed to him, “Alex, sweetheart, you need to wake up.”  
After a moment, he began to stir. His eyes slowly fluttered open and looked down at mine.

“Good morning love!”, he said as he took my face into his hands and greeted me with a kiss.

“Alex, it’s noon. We were up a few hours ago having breakfast.”, I told him while playfully nudging his belly.

“Oh, well then good afternoon, my love,” he replied with a small laugh and gave me another kiss, this time on the forehead. He yawned like a kitten and stretched his arms and back before he pulled back the covers and stepped out of the bed. I followed him out of the bed and caught a glimpse of my face in the mirror. My makeup was smudged, and my hair was an absolute mess.

“Oh my fucking god, I look like shit!”, I yelled while trying to fix some of my screwed up makeup.

“Oh love, you look good no matter what!”, Alex announced as he came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me. He planted a soft kiss to my neck.

“No Al, I look like shit. I think I’m going to head back to my place and fix this,” I told him.

“Well, wanna move over to your place for today and I’ll spend the night there tonight?”, he asked, rubbing my shoulders.

“Absolutely”

Alex packed his things and I attempted to make myself look presentable before we left. It was getting into mid-March now, so the weather was beginning to warm up. No longer did we need to suffocate ourselves in thick layers of coats and scarves. All we needed for the walk to my apartment was light jackets. 

Once we were safe inside, I took a quick shower and redid my makeup and hair. Once I was done, Alex took his shower. I sat in the bedroom and tidied the place up a bit while he showered. After a little bit, I heard the shower turn off, followed by the ripping of a hairbrush through tangled hair.

“Alex, do you want some help with your hair? I can hear it ripping out here”, I asked him as I knocked on the door.

“Yes, please”, he responded, and he unlocked the bathroom door.

I stepped in to find Alex wearing just a towel with his hairbrush caught in his hair. I gently removed the hairbrush from the knotted mess that his hair had become.

“Had a little too much to drink last night and forgot to put product in it before bed,” he bashfully told me.

I applied some of my hair products and got to work gently detangling his beautiful hair. After some serious hard work and dedication, his hair was tangle-free and as soft as ever. I brushed through it with my fingers to check for any missed knots.

“Thank you so much, (Y/F/N)!”, Alex yelled as he threw himself into my arms. I hugged him tightly and was shared a quick kiss.

“It was no problem! I quite enjoy playing in your hair”, I replied to him, nuzzling my face up to his.

I left the bathroom to let him get dressed. Although I’m not opposed to seeing him in the nude, we weren’t to the point in our relationship where we were ready for that yet. Once he was dressed and ready, we made our way to the kitchen and had lunch. It was nothing too fancy. Alex made some vegetable rice from bags of frozen veggies I had in my freezer. I put some frozen fish stick in the oven to go with the rice.

After lunch, we settled into the couch and watched TV for a few hours. We cuddled under a thick blanket while we watched cartoons. We would chat intermittently about our usual nonsense during the ad breaks. After a while, Alex had an idea.

“Hey (Y/F/N), wanna go on a date in a bit? We could get dinner at a restaurant and then do something after?”, he asked, pulling his best puppy eyes.

“I’d love to have a date with you, but I’d prefer to stay inside”, I said, motioning to the pouring rain outside of our window, “plus, it’s supposed to thunderstorm in a little bit.”

“Ok, well… how about we get takeout and watch a scary movie!”, he exclaimed.

“Sure, why not!”, I said, ruffling his perfect silky hair.

We ordered curry, or “curreh”, as Alex says it, and he found a DVD of The Shining in my movie cabinet.

“Alex, you know that movie is pretty scary, right?”, I ask as he shows me his movie choice.

“Oh absolutely! I’ve seen it before, and I know what to expect! I am very fucking brave, dear”, he said with a wink.

We had our curry and I made some popcorn for our movie. Alex put the DVD in the player, and we snuggled up under a blanket to watch it. We only made it about halfway through the movie before I turned it off. Alex claimed he wasn’t scared, but he was trembling in my arms and had his face buried in my shoulder. Even though he “wasn’t even a bit frightened”, he seemed fairly relieved for that to be over. We sat for a while in silence, but it soon began to storm. Every roll of thunder made Alex jump since his anxiety was still high from the movie. 

To attempt to calm his nerves so he didn’t have nightmares, I went and looked for a more family-friendly movie to watch. I settled on Cinderella. I loved the movie as a child and hadn’t seen it in a while. I put the new film in the player and returned to my spot on the couch nestled up to my boyfriend.

Needless to say, he loved the movie. During the scene where Cinderella is at the ball, Alex pulled me up from the couch and slow-danced with me. The room was filled with laughter as we tripped over each other’s feet and almost fell a few times. When the movie was over, I leaned down to where he was laying on my chest and planted a kiss to his forehead.

“You’re my Prince Charming”, I told him.

“And you’re my Cinderella”, he whispered to me.

After that night, the next month breezed by. I still hung out with Alex every day that I could, but many days I was still busy. There was a lot to get done before my album was released. Every day I had either a photoshoot, an interview, or a meeting. Alex was also busy planning the upcoming Arctic Monkeys tour.  
When the single came out for my album, The Age of the Understatement, I was flabbergasted. The two songs we had chosen- Standing Next to Me and The Age of the Understatement- performed extremely well. Both songs became number ones on the British chart and reached number 11 on the American charts.

When the full album dropped in early April, I found more success. It was number one in England and went platinum. In the US it went gold. It was an exciting moment for me. The paparazzi no longer referred to me as Alex Turner’s Girlfriend. They now referred to me by my name, and we’re seeking me out by myself. People would stop me on the street and ask for pictures and autographs. For once in my life, I felt important.

Another perk was that I suddenly had a great deal of money. During college I barely had anything. I paid for the whole thing with student loans and worked low-level retail jobs so that I’d have money to afford things like food and equipment for the band. Now, I was fairly wealthy. For the first time, my savings account had more than 20 pounds in it. I decided to pay off some of the more important things right off the bat. I paid off my student loans and sent my parents some money to pay off the rest of the mortgage on their house. 

I put a considerable amount into my savings account. I needed to get a car and buy a few new instruments, but I’d do that later. In the middle of figuring out my finances, I heard a knock at the door of my apartment. Alex was coming over later for dinner, but I wasn’t expecting anyone at that time. I was curious as to who may be at my door. When I opened it, standing outside was none other than Alex, dressed in a formal-looking button-down shirt and slacks. 

“Alex, dear! What are you doing here at this time? I thought you had meetings all day!”, I asked him as I hugged him.

“Well, I do, but I have an important question for you….”, he said, shuffling a bit.  
“What is it?”, I asked him.

“Our tour, the opening act that we had planned didn’t work out. The stupid bloke has too many drug convictions to get a passport into the US, so we dropped him. We pitched the idea to the team that you could be our opening act, and everyone thought that would be a great idea with how well The Age of the Understatement is doing. So (Y/F/N), would you like to open for us on tour?”, he asked, giving me his best puppy eyes. 

“Oh my god, of course, I would! This will be so exciting! Traveling the world, sharing my music, and I’ll still have you by my side!”, I exclaimed, enveloping him in a tight squeeze that prevented him from breathing for a moment. Once he was able to catch his breath, he spoke again. 

“Well, if you’d like to tour with us, would you come with me now? We’re having a meeting now about it with the band and the tour promoters”, he asked me.

“I can just let me change into something better”, I said as I motioned to my heavily worn jeans and sweatshirt from my university.

“Yea, pick something semi-formal”, he said, following me to my bedroom.

I settled on a long-sleeved dark blue dress that fell just below my knees and a pair of cream flats. Soon, I was in the car with Alex and we were on our way. I was so nervous about this. I’d never been to a meeting like this before, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. What if I made myself look stupid and they end up not choosing me? What if they only want me because I’m dating Alex and they know that doing this will keep him happy? My thoughts were interrupted by a hand on my knee.

“Darling, you ok? You’re awfully quiet over there”, Alex asked, picking up on my nerves.

“I’m fine, just a little nervous, that’s all”, I told him.

“There’s no need to worry, love. Everyone at this meeting is awesome and asking you was unanimous. We had a list of about 30 different groups we were thinking about asking, but everyone was keen on asking you. I didn’t even suggest you, Matt did! He’s going to be so starstruck meeting you, he loved the Age of the Understatement!”, he told me with a smile.

Alex had a way of making me feel at ease, even in a situation like this. When we made it to the building where the meeting was, the nerves hit me again. Alex took my hand, gave me a comforting smile, and we walked in together. When we walked into the room, everyone turned to us. The only people I recognized were the other members of Arctic Monkeys.

“Well, if it isn’t the girl that Alex won’t fucking shut up about!”, Nick O’Malley yelled with a smile. I couldn’t help but blush when Alex told him to shut the fuck up. Alex and I took out seats at the table. I was seated next to Matt. Just like Alex had said, Matt was pretty starstruck. We chatted a bit about my album and I promised to sign a copy for him.

Everyone at this meeting was so kind to me. Everyone was understanding and made sure that I knew what I was getting myself into. Although this meeting looked formal, the atmosphere was very relaxed. Everyone was joking around and swearing in between planning. At one point, Alex made a suggestion that wasn’t popular with the group, so Matt leaned over and whispered in my ear to lower Alex’s chair. I reached over and pushed back the tab under Alex’s chair and watched as he slowly sank. Alex didn’t seem very pleased with Matt and me, but we all had a good laugh.

Once all of the plans were made, The Arctic Monkeys team began working with my team. It was very short notice, but everyone came together and was able to make it work. I was so excited that I was going to get to tour with one of my favorite bands and my boyfriend. Everything felt like a dream come true.

That night after Alex had fallen asleep in my bed, I called my mom and Stephanie. I had to tell them that I was going to tour now. Alex said that I could invite whoever to come to see the show, and I planned on inviting them both. It was so nice to hear them say how proud they were of me and how excited they were to see me live. My mom wanted me to bring Alex over for dinner so she could meet him, and I promised her that I would.  
It didn’t feel real to me, but here I was, living my dream.


	6. Chapter VI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 4.7K
> 
> Notes from the Author: I had so much fun writing this chapter and I hope you all have fun reading it! 
> 
> (Y/F/N) = Your First Name
> 
> (Y/L/N)= Your Last Name
> 
> Tumblr Link: https://supersonic-scientist.tumblr.com/post/621808504302452736/pretty-visitor-chapter-vi

The week before tour was one of the most exciting times of my life, but also one of the most stressful. There was so much I needed to get ready. The hardest part was finding some clothes to wear onstage. Alex and the rest of the band let me tag along on their shopping trip. The boys picked out their usual new jeans and t-shirts, but I wanted something a bit different from their relaxed style. I ended up choosing a pair of combat boots, a few floral dresses, and a leather jacket.

Packing was insane. I needed to bring so much with me. I had a little mini wardrobe on wheels that I filled with my new floral dresses, the beautiful green vintage dress that Alex got me on our little date to the thrift shop, my leather jackets, and anything else I’d wear on stage. The rest I’d need to pack into my suitcase. Alex was quite helpful. He helped me comb through my closet and pick out what I’d need to bring and what I shouldn’t bring.

One evening, I sat alone in my apartment. Alex said he needed to go home early that evening and stressed that he needed to go alone. I found that quite odd for him, but I brushed it off. Maybe he just wanted a little bit of time completely alone. I used that time to call Stephanie and catch up with her. While I was on the phone, I heard the doorbell ring. I hung up the phone and went to investigate. When I opened the door, Alex was standing there with a guitar case in hand.

“Alex, what the fuck are you doing here?”, I asked him, skeptical of him.

“I have a surprise for you. I left a little bit ago so I could go pick it up”, he said as he handed the guitar case to me.

I placed it on my coffee table, flipped the metal tabs open, and lifted the lid of the case. Inside laid a sparkling ruby red Fender Stratocaster with a faux pearl pickguard and a glossy cherry wood neck and fingerboard. All of the knobs, pickups, and frets were shiny silver. It was the most stunning instrument I’d ever seen.

“Alex, it’s beautiful! where did you find it? I’ve never seen anything so stunning in a music shop before”, I asked, examining the exquisite instrument.

“I had it made custom for you. It’s a real Fender Custom Shop piece. Had it commissioned a few weeks ago as a congratulatory gift for the new album and you coming on tour with us. Every good guitarist has to have one that’s pretty and plays well. I had all of the pro equipment put in it too. Plus, you can never go wrong with a Strat”, he continued on about it.

He might have wanted to say something else, but I didn’t let him. I wanted to express my appreciation to him. I slid my hand up to his face and cupped his cheek. I gazed into his eyes for a moment, then I brought his lips to mine. At first, the kiss was quite innocent, but after a moment it became very intense. I ran my tongue over his bottom lip, and he parted his lips. I took a handful of his soft hair and tilted his head back as the kiss became deep. When we finally came up for air, I whispered my thanks in his ear.

“I’m glad you like it, but I wanna hear you play it! I gave it a test in the music shop, and it sounded stunning”, he said to me.

I went and grabbed an amp from the other side of the room and brought it to the couch. Alex lifted my beautiful new guitar out of the case and gently placed it into my lap. I plugged it in and began to strum. As I played through songs from my album, I could tell how much better this instrument was than the ones I had. It played beautifully. I was so excited to be able to bring this on tour with me.

Alex ended up spending the night after all, and we ended up having our usual cuddle session before bed. I laid on top of him with the fronts of our bodies touching. I covered his beautiful face in kisses and stroked the sides of his body.

The morning was spent at Alex’s packing. He was extremely organized and had a list of everything he wanted to bring along with him. I helped him fit it all into his suitcase and leather carry-on bag. A few days later Alex and I woke up at 2:00am to get ready to leave for the airport. A limo picked us up from his apartment and inside was the rest of the band and our managers. We joked about and had a few good laughs on our way to Heathrow Airport.

The airport wasn’t super busy, which was a good thing. Alex told me that they usually try to take flights at 5:00am to avoid being stopped too many times and being photographed by the paparazzi. That was understandable since even in the barren airport we still got stopped twice for pictures with fans. Going through security was pretty fast and before too long we were boarded onto the plane. We flew on a public plane, which shocked me a little bit. But again, there were only ten in our party: me, Arctic Monkeys, and five managers and assistants. We would meet up with the rest of the crew when we got to the United States.

Alex got the window seat and I sat next to him in the middle seat. In the end seat sat one of the assistants, who was a very kind woman in her mid-40s. She thought Alex and I were adorable, so she didn’t mind being stuck with us. Matt, Nick, and Jamie sat in the row behind us. I already knew this would be a very long seven and a half hours ahead of us.

The first few hours of our flight were peaceful. Alex and I snuggled up under a blanket and slept. We tried to go to bed early the previous night, but it hadn’t worked. Our bodies won’t let us fall asleep until at least 11:00pm. Three hours of sleep wouldn’t cut it for the exciting day ahead. After a few hours, I was awoken to the feeling of my hair being pulled. I opened my eyes and sat up to see what was pulling my hair. When I moved, Alex’s hair came with mine and his head fell from my shoulder. We quickly realized that while we were asleep, Matt had reached between our seats and braided our hair together. I freed our hair and Alex lost it on Matt.

“You fucking idiot!”, Alex joking yelled as he got up on his knees in his seat and turned around to face Matt.

“What? I’m bored and there was all this hair in front of me. What else was I supposed to do?”, Matt replied, tugging at Alex’s hair.

“Aye! Don’t touch my hair!”, Alex yelled, reaching his hands up to protect his silky locks of hair.

“I bet you like it when (Y/F/N) pulls your hair while she fucks you!”, Matt retorted, holding back laughter. The other boys snickered at that. Alex, on the other hand, didn’t find it as funny.

“Hey! Don’t bring her into this! She hasn’t even seen my cock yet! And besides, you all are just jealous that I have a better girlfriend you lot!”, Alex said as he turned back around in his chair and sat down. The boys behind him were silent. Obviously, there was some truth to what Alex had said.

The boys were peaceful for another hour. Alex fell back asleep on my shoulder and I worked on writing some songs. Suddenly, in one swift motion, my boyfriend disappeared. Jamie and Nick had swooped him up from his seat from behind and they had him held captive in their laps. The only thing I could see of him from my position was his Converse clad foot hanging over the front of the seat. They were peaceful at first. They just chatted so I let them be. Soon, though, I began to hear screaming coming from behind me.

“guySSSS!!! STOP IT!!!!! NOOOOOO!!!!”, Alex yelled intermittently between laughs. I turned around to find the rest of the band ticketing him. I got up on my knees and turned around in my seat.

“Hey! Let him go! You can torture him all you want when we get to the hotel but leave him alone for now! There are other people on this flight who don’t want to listen to him scream!”, I yelled at them.

That convinced them to free Alex. They pushed him into the aisle, and he scrambled back to his seat. I leaned over to the assistant in the seat next to me and whispered to her, “why do boys enjoy causing trouble so much?”

“I blame it on the testosterone”, she replied, not even looking up from her computer. She must be used to them acting like idiots.

Finally, the plane landed in New York and we got off. It had been forever since I’d been back to The States. I was born and raised here, but flights were so expensive that I was only able to come to visit twice during my college years. I was even more excited to introduce Alex to my mom. Towards the end of the next week, we’d be playing in Chicago, and my mother lives a few hours south of it in Illinois. I’m also going to get to see Stephanie, but Alex won’t come along for that. Although I love my boy, I need some time alone with my best friend.

Once we were through security and had our luggage, we made our way to the hotel. We were playing a few shows in and around New York this week, so we’d be staying here all week. It was a really nice hotel, nicer than anything I’d ever stayed in. We had twenty rooms reserved for all forty of the crew who would tour with us. We all had assigned rooms and were given the keys at the front desk.

To my surprise, Alex and I were sharing a room. Usually, he’d share with Jamie, so I was shocked he was staying with me.

“Well, when we switched up the tour lineup and brought you along, we had an odd number of girls and we didn’t want to have to make any ladies share a room with a random roadie, so Jamie and I agreed that one of the roadies would stay with him and I’d stay with you”, Alex explained to me.

I was so happy to be sharing a room with Alex because I scared about who I would end up rooming with. I was also excited that I would have him to myself all night to cuddle with. When we made our way up to the room, we saw that there were two beds in the room. We knew that we’d only be needing one. We dropped our stuff off in the small living room and crawled into the first bed. We didn’t need to meet with the rest of the crew until 1:00pm, and it was currently only 8:00am in the states. We were both so jet-lagged and tired after only getting three hours of sleep that we fell asleep very quickly. It was the most comforting feeling being wrapped up in Alex’s arms.

Our meeting with everyone at one went very smoothly. I got to meet the musicians that I’d be playing with on the tour and the managers went over how everything would work and what needed to be done. Everything was extremely organized down to the very last detail. Once everything was sorted out, we were allowed some free time. The guys wanted to go out and get lunch, and they were kind enough to invite me.

They all were arguing over what they wanted to get. It ended up being a tie. Alex and Nick wanted to go to the Italian place up the block, but Jamie and Matt wanted to eat at the sports bar across the street from the hotel. They couldn’t agree on a choice, so they turned to me.

“You know, why don’t we let (Y/F/N) pick, she is our guest after all”, Alex said, assuming that I’d side with him.

“Well, I’ve had Italian so many times this week, I really could go for a burger right now. I’ll cast my ballot for the sports bar”, I replied.

Jamie and Matt gave each other high fives and Alex shot me a disappointed glare. I made my way over to him and put my arm around him.

“Stop your pouting, Turner. I’ll buy you a few beers if it makes you feel better”, I whispered in his ear.

“Fine, traitor”, he snickered in my ear.

We made our way to the sports bar and were seated by a man with a thick New York accent.

“Ah, we’ve got a few handsome guys and two lovely ladies. Which of you lads is the single one”, he said, eyeing Alex and me, then eyeing Matt, Nick, and, Jamie. The whole table erupted in laughter at the fact that he thought Alex was a girl.

“Well, I’m a boy and she’s my girlfriend!”, Alex said pretending he was offended.

The poor waiter was embarrassed at his slip up, but we all found it very funny. We all ordered burgers and the boys got their beers. I’ve never been much into beer, so I just had a few sips of Alex’s. We all chatted during lunch and I had the opportunity to get to know the guys a bit better. They were a fun lot to hang around with and I fit in with them as if I was one of the guys. Alex never expressed it, but I could tell how happy he was that I got along with his friends.

Once we were done with our lunch, we made our way back to the hotel to get ready. The boys had a press conference to do and then right after that, we’d go to the arena we were playing. I helped Alex pick out something cute to wear and I brushed his hair before we met with the rest of the group. Their manager and publicist gave them a quick briefing before they were ushered to the hotel conference room. I took my place in the front row of the audience to watch them. It was very lighthearted. Mostly the questions were about the new album and Alex’s writing process. There was one question, though, that almost caused a row.

“So, Alex, you’ve got this new female artist that you’ve created. Tell me about that?”, asked an older male reporter.

“I didn’t create her. All I did was help her refine a few songs. And in her recording sessions, I was just another session musician. I did very little to help her, she did it all on her own!”, Alex replied, clearly offended that someone would ask him that.

“Well, you also got her a tour, and there’s plenty of pictures of you two all cozied up to each other, so did you just convince the rest of the band to let her be the opening act so that you could…”, the reporter said, but Alex cut him off.

“I will not allow you to speak about my girlfriend like that. You’re done!”, Alex told him, moving onto the next question. I sat there in shock. Alex just stood up to that reporter and he just confirmed our relationship to the public. I had never seen him angry before, but I could tell that he was quietly fuming.

After the press conference, the band was shuttled off and I followed them back to the van we were taking to the venue. Alex sat in the very back, so I climbed in and sat in the seat next to his. I buckled my seatbelt and proceeded to snake my arms around Alex and plant a kiss to his soft cheek.

“Thanks for defending me out there, Al”, I said as I lovingly rubbed his belly.

“No problem, love. No one calls my girl a slag or tries to imply that I got you the job just so that I’d have an excuse to bring you along”, he said with his head on my shoulder.

“Yea”, Nick began, turning around from the front seat, “Alex didn’t even suggest we bring you, Matt did! And our decision on who to bring on tour with us as our supporting act is extremely careful! We want someone cool and will be fun to hang out with, so that’s why we choose you!”

I was very flattered by all of the boy’s reasons as to why they wanted to bring me along. They were all so nice to me, and I appreciated how they made the effort to include me in all of their strange antics. The ride to the venue was not excluded from the wild antics. They were loudly talking to each other and yelling and laughing the whole way. I was glad to get out of that vehicle when we’d made it to the venue.

The door slid open on Alex’s side and he stepped out first, then he took my hand and let me steady myself on him as I stepped out. We walked hand in hand through a group of about ten fans, and Alex stopped and signed albums for them and took pictures with them. A couple of people even had a copy of my album that they wanted me to sign for them and I got to be in a few pictures with Alex and fans.

When we made it inside, Alex showed me where my private dressing room was. The boys were sharing one across the hall. I then followed them out to the stage for the soundcheck. They did the bulk of the work, but my band and I played a few songs too. Once we were done and everything was set up, they began letting people into the arena. I had half an hour to get ready before my band was set to play.

For my first ever performance to a large crowd, I chose to wear the vintage green flower dress Alex had bought for me right after we met. I then paired it with a leather jacket and my combat boots. I made sure that the emerald ring was secure on my finger. About 15 minutes before stage time, there was a knock on my door. I opened it up to find Alex standing there smiling at me.  
“Heya love! I thought I’d just stop by to tell you good luck”, he said.

I was nervous, but he showed me some of the techniques he uses to calm nerves before he performs. We also discovered a new one, which involved an intense make-out session before the performance. I stayed seated on the couch and spread my legs and Alex got on his knees in that now open spot. He held my head steady while his tongue maneuvered around in my mouth. I roughly massaged his arse and back while he kissed me.

I don’t know how long we had been at it, but we were rudely pulled from our bliss by a knock at the door and a man’s voice yelling “five minutes till you’re on! Head backstage!”

I let out a sigh as Alex moved off of my body and allowed me to stand. Thank god my lipstick was waterproof because it didn’t smear on my face or transfer to Alex’s mouth. Without a word, he took my hand and led me backstage. The rest of the band was already there. I took a few deep breaths before I grabbed the ruby red Stratocaster and placed it on my body. As I walked on, Alex stood side stage and gave me a thumbs up.

When I walked on, I noticed that the arena was significantly more packed than I was expecting. It was another hour and a half before Arctic Monkeys came on; all of these people must have been there for me. When the lights came on and we began to play, the crowd erupted into applause. Even though this was a large crowd, it didn’t feel that different from playing the bars back at school. The environment felt so relaxed. I played for about an hour, but it only felt like I was up there for twenty minutes. Alex stayed side stage the entire time. Every time I glanced over to him, he was dancing and rocking out.

My favorite moment was when we did a cover of The Strokes’ ‘Last Nite’. Before I played it, I dedicate the song to “my sweet, loving boyfriend and all of his friends who got me here tonight”. The look on Alex’s face was precious. His big brown eyes were even bigger than usual, and his lips were twisted into a big smile. He danced especially hard to that particular song.

As I walked off the stage, I waved to the crowd and they erupted in applause yet again. The biggest applause, though, came from Alex on the side stage. When I made it to him, he pulled a bouquet of red roses out from behind him and held them out for me. I took them from him, and he wrapped his arms around me. His lips coated my face in kisses.

“Holy fucking shit! You did amazing! That was so much fucking fun watching you up there! You killed it, Love!”, he exclaimed between kisses.

“Aww, thank you love”, I replied to him.

I walked back to the dressing rooms hand in hand with him. He led me into the room he shared with the rest of the Arctic Monkeys. When he opened the door, the other three were crashed on the couch drinking Coca Cola. They Immediately bombarded me with a round of applause and questions. They all wanted to know how it went and what it felt like playing to a big crowd. I told them all about how awesome it was and how invigorated I felt. They all seemed quite proud.

We chatted for a while until a man wearing the uniform for the venue and a headset poked his head into the open door and yelled “five minutes, guys. Head backstage!”. I followed them and gave them a pep talk as they got themselves ready. Before he went on, I gave Alex a quick good luck kiss to his pouty lips.

Watching Alex perform was like nothing I’d ever seen before. He became a different person when he went on stage. The Alex I knew was a sweet a bubbly boy, but the person on stage was this dark, mysterious man. He still managed to have a few laughs with the audience, but even his laugh sounded different when we was in that mode.

Even though I could barely even tell that it was Alex up there performing, I still enjoyed the show. Those four were incredibly talented and you could tell that they enjoyed what they did. The best songs they played were Pretty Visitors and I Bet You Look Good in the Dancefloor. I love it when Alex gets a little bit crazy and shakes his fluffy hair about. At least once every song Alex would glance over at me and check what my reaction to them was. I would always smile at him and he’d smile back. When they came off stage, I couldn’t help but grab my boy and place a kiss to his sweaty cheek.

“You did amazing, sweetheart”, I whispered to him and his cheeks when every redder than they already were. I snaked my arm around him and brought him up against the side of my body as we made our way to the dressing rooms.

“Thank you, love”, he replied, laying his head on my shoulder.

Back at the hotel, Alex went to Matt and Nick’s room with Jamie. I decided that I’d take a shower and get changed and meet them there after a little bit for dinner. Once I was freshened up and in a clean set of clothes, I grabbed my camera and went back to their room. Photography was a hobby of mine, so they asked me if I’d like to be responsible for collecting some footage of them offstage for tour videos. I hadn’t gotten anything good yet, but I thought this would be a good opportunity to get some footage. Boy, was I correct.

When I stepped into the room, I couldn’t find the boys, but I found their clothes messily in four piles on the bed. I recognized Alex’s blue shirt and picked it up from one of the piles, and underneath it was a pair of gray boxer shorts. I assumed that these were his dirty clothes and that he had changed into fresh ones, but that didn’t explain where the boys were.

“Alex? Matt? Jamie? Nick? Are you guys in here?”, I loudly ask.

“In the bathroom!”, they all yelled back in unison.

When I walked in, I saw the weirded thing I’d seen them do yet. All four of them were crammed into the bathtub taking a bubble bath. Matt, Nick, and Jamie had bottles of beer in their hands while Alex shook a margarita in an alcohol shaker. The hotel had large bathtubs, but they weren’t that large. It was quite a comical sight.

“What the actual fuck are you guys doing?”, I asked them as I reached over and ruffled Alex’s hair. When I glanced into the water, I expected to see the color of swim trunks around their hips, but all I saw was the color of their skin.

“What the fuck! Are you guys all naked?”, I asked, quickly jumping back when I made the realization.

“Indeed, we’ve seen each other naked quite a few times on tour. I guess it’s a very boy thing to do”, Alex replied.

Matt had to make it weird by yelling, “yea (Y/F/N), Al has the biggest cock out of all of us!”

Poor Alex when beet red at that, and as punishment, he took a big scoop of bubbles and placed them atop Matt’s head. We all had a good laugh, so I pulled out my camera and began filming them. I was assuming this was the type of shit I was supposed to get on film.

Once the boys were dressed again and we had a few drinks, Alex and I decided to turn in for the night. We changed into our pajamas and I crawled into bed while Alex went over to his suitcase and pulled out what looked like a white medicine bottle.

“Here, want one? It’s melatonin”, he said, offering me the bottle.

“Melatonin? Is that actual melatonin or is that a nickname for some illicit drug?”, I said, skeptical of the brightly colored gummies in Alex’s hand.

“I promise it’s a melatonin herbal supplement and I’m not trying to offer you some sketchy drugs. I use it on tour because it helps me get to sleep faster and not wake up at night”, he said, and I trusted him. I took two of the gummies from his hand and I ate them. Pretty soon we were fast asleep in each other’s protective arms.

The next week was pretty similar to this day. We played shows every single day, and after a while, I got used to it. It was so much fun playing and hanging out with the guys. It was also nice to have Alex with me during this new adventure.  
At the end of the week, we packed up our things and left New York. It was bittersweet, but we had more places to go and shows to play. The most exciting part of the tour was nearing closer, which was introducing Alex to my family.


	7. Chapter VII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 5.1K
> 
> Notes from the Author: This chapter is a bit longer and juicer!
> 
> (Y/F/N) = Your First Name
> 
> (Y/L/N)= Your Last Name
> 
> Tumblr Link: https://supersonic-scientist.tumblr.com/post/622443045312512000/pretty-visitor-chapter-vii

The week after the tour left New York was absolute chaos. Every night we played a show in a different midwestern city. Each day we would only have a couple of hours of free time, and we almost always spent it sleeping. And speaking of sleeping, we didn’t stay in hotels during that stretch of the tour either. We slept in bunks on the tour bus. Each bus had fifteen bunks, so we ended up having three busses to accommodate everyone. One bus had the musicians and management teams while the other two carried our roadies.  
The bunks were pretty small, but Alex and I still insisted on sharing one. We were both very squished and had no personal space, but we were ok with that. Matt had the bunk below ours and made sure to poke fun at us.

“I better not hear you two up there having sex!”, he yelled from his bunk the first night we slept there.

“How the hell are we going to have sex up here, Matthew? There’s not enough room to sit up, let alone have someone on top of you!”, Alex retorted.

He had a point because we did barely fit. One night while we were sleeping, the bus made an especially hard turn. I fell out of our bunk onto the rough carpet of the floor. Thankfully, I wasn’t the only person who fell, because when I came to my senses, I noticed that the Arctic Monkeys’ manager was also laying on the floor confused. Alex quickly flung himself from our bunk to help me.

“Oh my god! Are you ok (Y/F/N)?”, Alex asked me in a bit of a panic.

“Hey? What about me? I fell too?”, their manager jokingly asked Alex, pretending to be offended that he tended to me and not him.

“It’s your job to babysit me, not the other way around, Ian!”, Alex yelled back, his eyes not leaving mine.

“I’m ok, Al, just a bit shook up and I’ve got a bit of rug burn”, I said as I stood up. He still seemed worried. Alex was always such a sweet and doting boyfriend.

Once we made it to Chicago, things slowed down for a few days. We had three days off before our next show. We were lucky enough to have a hotel for this stretch, so Alex and I abandoned the bulk of our things there before heading south to visit my mom. We would spend all of the day there, spend the night, and then drive back the following evening. The day after that, I’d go visit Stephanie.

Alex and I rented a car and I drove us. It’s not that I don’t trust Alex’s driving, it’s just that he’s awful at driving in the states. He gets confused and tries to drive on the wrong side of the road, and frankly, I’d prefer to survive the drive to my mom’s. As compensation, I let Alex control the music. Not long before the tour, I convinced him to upgrade from his slider phone to the fancy new iPhone 3GS. I helped him burn his whole CD collection to the music library on it, and he was very excited. He put on the Strokes playlist he’d made and relaxed.

He also had a camera on this phone, and he never stopped taking pictures of me. His lock screen was an adorable picture of us from one of the restaurants we went to in New York. We were sitting in a booth waiting for our dinner and my arms are around Alex and my head is on his shoulder. Alex’s head is on top of mine and his hand rested on my elbow. Matt took the picture for us and Alex loved it so much that he made it his lock screen. He also texts me pictures of the most random shit he sees when we’re apart.

When we finally made it to my mom’s house, I scrambled excitedly out of the car. I hadn’t seen my mom in almost three years. I was incredibly excited to introduce her to Alex. I had promised her that I’d invite my first partner over for dinner, but back when I was in college on the other side of the Atlantic, that didn’t seem possible. I was incredibly excited that I was able to keep my promise.

I took Alex’s hand in mine to lead him to the front door. I gave him a reassuring squeeze as I rang the doorbell. My mother answered very quickly and made a swift move to hug me.

“(Y/F/N)! I’ve missed you so much”, my mother said as she gave me a tight hug. She was excited to see me, but she quickly turned her gaze to the boy next to me.

“Oh, are you Alex?”, she asked him, eyeing him up.

“I am! It’s wonderful to meet you!”, Alex said through a smile.

“Oh my god, he’s even cuter in person!”, she said to me before grabbing Alex and wrapping him up in a big hug.

My mother is quite a strong woman, so she had no problem lifting Alex off of his feet during this hug. Once he was back on the ground and steady on his feet, we were invited in. This was the house I grew up in, and it felt strange being here as a guest. Alex commented on how beautiful and homey it felt. The house was one floor and had three bedrooms. The walls were painted a golden brown and were adorned with plenty of paintings and family pictures. Most of the furniture was the same that was there when I was growing up.

It was nearing lunchtime, and the house was filled with the most wonderful cooking smells. One of my mother’s hobbies was cooking, and she prided herself on her skills. This lunch though wasn’t anything fancy. She thought that she’d introduce Alex to some “authentic American food”, so she made her famous barbecue pulled pork sandwiches and baked macaroni and cheese. She was extremely happy when Alex loved her cooking. He didn’t have the heart to tell her that what she made already existed in England.

Once we’d eaten, she insisted on showing Alex some photo albums. They laughed as they flipped through all of the embarrassing pictures from when I was a baby. Most pictures were pretty funny, but Alex stopped at my pictures from high school prom.

“Wow, you looked stunning then!”, he said, pointing to the picture of me in my faint pink dress.

“Aww, thanks Al”, I said as I ruffled his hair.

“I wish I was there to see you in that pretty dress”, he replied.

“Well, give me a minute!”, I said as I ran back to my childhood bedroom.

I opened my closet and one of the few things still hanging there was a white dress bag. I unzipped it to reveal my old prom dress. Prom was seven years ago, but the dress still fit me like a glove. I slipped into the shiny flats, put some pink lipstick on, and did my hair into a similar style. Once I was ready, I strode out into the living room. My mother clapped for me and Alex’s jaw hit the floor.

“Wow, you look even better than in the pictures!”, he said as he stood and came over to me. He placed his hands on my hips and brought my body up to his. I placed my hands on his shoulders.

“Wanna dance?”, I asked him. He giggled and played the song ‘My Mistakes Were Made for You” from my album on his phone. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes as he began to guide me into a clumsy dance. My head rested on his shoulder as he twirled us about the living room. It was a sweet and romantic moment until we fell. I got my feet tangled up in my dress and I fell backward, bringing Alex down with me. He let out a little high-pitched scream as we fell, and he landed on top of me. After it was established that we were both ok, I couldn’t help but grab his sweet little face and place kisses all over it. The only issue was that I forgot that I was wearing lipstick. When I pulled away from his face, it was covered in pink lip prints. My mother had a good laugh at how silly and in love we were.

Alex and my mom got along very well and spent considerable time talking that night. They talked for hours. My mom even broke out a few bottles of expensive wine and Alex got pretty drunk. He clumsily maneuvered himself into my lap and threw his arms around my shoulders. He kept kissing me and declaring his love for me with his slurred, drunken speech. He was incredibly sweet but was slightly getting on my nerves, so I took away his wine privileges at about 10:00pm.

We all hung out and talked until about midnight when it was clear that Alex was getting sleepy. We told my mom goodnight and made our way to my bedroom. My childhood bedroom was pretty similar to the size of the bedroom in my apartment. I had a full-sized bed and an attached bathroom. Alex went to take a shower while I unmade the bed and dug out my pajamas. I spent quite a bit of time laying on my bed looking around. Nothing had changed that much since I had lived here full time. I couldn’t bring very much with me when I moved to London for school. All I took with me was my clothes and a few other necessities. I could probably bring more things back with me now since I live in an apartment now and I have the money to have it shipped.

The bathroom door clicked open and out stepped Alex wearing nothing but his boxers. He smiled at me before joining me on the bed.

“Y’know, I really love it here. Your mum is so sweet and is so kind, but I have a question for you”, Alex said.

“What are you wondering?”, I ask, reaching my hand out to touch his bare stomach.

“You always talk about your mum, but what about your dad? Whatever happened to him?”, he asked, a twinge of nervousness in his voice. I froze. I knew this question would be coming, but I still wasn’t prepared for this. I took a deep sigh before deciding to tell him the truth.

“My Dad. It’s a bit of a long story. So, he was a boyfriend of my mom’s while she was in medical school. He was pretty shitty. He had a huge drug problem and was abusive. She was going to break up with him, but then she ended up pregnant with me. She decided to keep him around for help with the baby, but he tried to kill me when I was like two months old, so she ended up getting a restraining order against him. After that, she never was interested in dating anymore. It’s always just been the two of us”, I told him.

“I’m terribly sorry to hear that, love. I’m glad that you’re ok”, he said, grabbing my hand in his.

“Thanks”, I replied to him with a smile.

After that, we put on our pajamas and crawled into bed. Once we were nice and comfortable, there was a knock at the door.

“Kids! The hospital called me in! I should only be gone for around three hours!”, my mom yelled through the door.

“Ok! We’ll be fine!”, I yelled back. I was used to this growing up. Being an ER doctor usually meant that she’d get called in at random hours to perform surgeries.

“If you need anything, I’ll try to keep my phone on me! Also, if you two decide to use the time alone to have sex, there are condoms in the drawer in the kitchen island if you need them!”, she yelled back.

“Oh my god, mom! I’m not losing my virginity in my childhood bedroom!”, I yelled through the door. Alex was laughing so hard I thought he might suffocate.

Once she was gone, Alex and I decided to snog each other. We hadn’t had any time alone for some time, so we were going to make the most of this. Alex had taken off his shirt, but I stayed fully dressed. I was positioned in his lap and controlled most of the kiss. Our hands roamed each other’s bodies as our tongues collided. We continued with our antics until I got a text from my mom at 3:30am saying that she was on her way home. We quickly redressed and curled up into bed and pretended like we’d been asleep the whole time.

We hadn’t been back in bed for long when we heard a loud bang at the front door. There was no way it could be my mom. She usually pulls her car into the garage, and if for some reason she was locked out, she’d call me to let her in. Alex looked at me, and from what little light there was in the room, I could see that his brown eyes were flooded with fear. I pulled back the blankets and went over to the window. I pushed the curtains to the side and what I saw nearly made my heart stop.

A man stood at the front door banging on the door. From what I could see in the lights, he looked familiar. I couldn’t figure out where I knew him from, though. I didn’t realize who he was until he spoke.

“(Y/F/N)!, I know you’re in there! Don’t you wanna let your old dad in?”, the man yelled. I panicked. I ran back to the bed and grabbed my phone and dialed my mom. She picked up quickly.

“(Y/F/N)? Is everything ok?”, she asked me.

“Mom, it’s dad. He’s outside the house and he’s banging on the door!”, I said to her.

“What! Don’t let him in! I’m turning into the neighborhood now. Call the police!”, she said, panic in her voice.

“Ok, bye”, I told her, and then I hung up and dialed 911. 

I heard the front door smash open at the same time I saw the headlights of my mom’s car pulling in. Alex was as pale as a ghost and shaking from fear. I grabbed the baseball bat from my closet and stood guard over the door after handing over the 911 call to Alex. I could hear my parents talking in the living room.

“Sharon, come on. She’s rich now. It wouldn’t hurt her to hand over a few thousand dollars. I’m her dad after all!”, I heard my dad say to my mother.

“Why? So you can buy more drugs?! She doesn’t owe you anything! You’ve done nothing for her! Hell, you tried to kill her! I’d prefer that you stay away from her. I don’t want her to end up a loser like you!”, my mother yelled back at him.

The police then arrived and arrested my dad. We had a restraining order against him after all, and him coming here was breaking that. The cops talked to us all and we told our stories of what happened before they left for the night. Alex and I were both traumatized, so we didn’t sleep at all for the rest of the night. We sat in the living room with my mom for a while and talked.

“I’m sorry love, I’m useless, I should have stood up for you and protected you. All I was capable of was cowering in fear! I’m sorry!”, Alex yelled out of nowhere and began sobbing. I wrapped him in my arms and held his head to my chest as he sobbed.

“Alex, I’m not upset with you. I didn’t expect you to stand up and be brave. I had it handled”, I said in an attempt to calm him.

“But it’s still not ok! I’m a man! It’s my job to protect you and I’m too much of a chicken to do it!” He said in between sobs. I kissed the top of his head and held him even tighter.

“Alex, look at me”, I said as I brought his chin up so that he looked me in the eyes, “you’re only job is to love me and care for me, and you do a wonderful job at that” He gave me a small smile and I kissed his forehead. I brought his head back to my chest and his sobbing slowed a bit.

By the time we made it back to bed, it was 6:00am. Alex and I were exhausted, so we all ended up sleeping until noon. When we got up, my mom wasn’t up yet, so Alex took the time to make a full English breakfast. My mother was very pleased with Alex’s creation since she was hoping he’d make some British food for her.

As a whole, our second day with my mother was spent catching up. I was able to tell her in person all about how crazy the album launch was and how much effort was put into creating the album. She also spent plenty of time talking to Alex, who she already loved after a few hours with him. Before we left, my mother asked Alex if he’d give us a few minutes alone. He understood and went outside while we went into her bedroom.

“(Y/F/N), I want to talk about Alex”, my mother said as she sat down on the bed.

“Oh mom, please don’t tell me if you don’t like him! I just…”, I began to say, but she cut me off.

“No! What I wanted to say to you is that Alex is an incredible find. He’s a very sweet, respectful boy. The way he looks at you melts my heart. It’s obvious that he cares for you”, she said.

“You really think that?”, I asked her, slightly shocked.

“Yes! Why do you think I let him get slightly wine drunk last night? You can tell who someone really is when they’ve got a decent amount of alcohol in their system. I think it’s safe to say that Alex is even more loving and goofy, in a sweet way, when he’s drunk”, she said, both of us laughing at the memory of my cute drunk boyfriend, “but there’s also the fact that he felt awful about not defending you last night. I don’t think that you really needed his help, but it’s still good to know that he cares and wants to keep you safe.”

“Yea, Alex is such a great guy. I really enjoy having him around”, I replied, blushing from all of the praise my mother gave Alex.

“And just so you know, you kids have my blessing”, she said, putting her hand on my shoulder.

“What? Your blessing for what?”, I asked

“Well, if you two want to take the next step and get married any time soon…”, she began, but I interjected.

“No! No! No! I’m not marrying him any time soon! I’ve only known him since February and I’ve been dating him for under three months!”, I yelled in protest.

“Ok, well, then I give you my permission to lay him”, she said, snickering quietly.

“Mother! I’m an adult! I don’t need permission to have sex with my boyfriend!”, I protested while laughing.

“Ok, but how big is he?”, she asked.

“MOTHER!”, I yelled, shocked.

“Come on, you’ve had to at least seen him in his underwear, how big is the bulge?”, she continued prodding.

“I don’t know, I think it’s pretty decently sized”, I replied.

“Perfect! And is he a virgin too?”, she asked.

“No, he had sex pretty regularly with his ex-girlfriend”, I said, slightly embarrassed to be telling my mother all about Alex’s sex life.

“Even better! Look, honey, I think he’ll be a great pull”, she said.

“Ok fine. I bet he would be”, I replied.

I didn’t really want to admit it, but I had been considering having sex with Alex. I was thinking that maybe if we have another off day on the tour when we’re staying in a hotel, I could bring it up. My mom gave me condoms, so I didn’t have an excuse now.

After our little conversation, we went and found Alex. He was laying on the bench swing in the sunroom with his headphones on listening to music. His eyes were closed, and he looked so relaxed. I tried calling his name, but that did nothing. I gently placed a hand on his belly, but when I did that he jumped and quickly removed his headphones.

“God damnit (Y/F/N)! You gave me a damn heart attack!”, he said, laughing at how scared he got.

“Take a deep breath Alexander, it’s just me!”, I replied to him.

I told him that we needed to get ready to go. We packed our bags the rest of the way and bid my mother goodbye. Before we left, though, my mother picked up Alex and gave him a tight squeeze.

“If you ever need anything, Alex, feel free to ask me. I’m here for you too and I love you”, she said, and she kissed him on the cheek. We finished saying our goodbyes, promised to return sooner rather than later, and then we were on the road again.

The drive home was relatively quiet. It was dark out and Alex had fallen asleep. Soft indie music from a band I didn’t recognize played over the speakers in the car. It was almost midnight when we got into Chicago. The city lights illuminated the peaceful face of the boy sleeping in the passenger seat as I sped to the hotel. Once the car was returned, Alex and I went up to our room and went to sleep. We were both exhausted and couldn’t get to bed fast enough.

In the morning, Alex reunited with the guys and I left to go visit Stephanie. After college, Stephanie had moved to Chicago to pursue a career in public health. I hadn’t seen her since college graduation, so when we saw each other in the cafe, we both went crazy hugging each other and yelling. We had a more general catch up session at the coffee shop, but after an hour we went to her apartment.

Her place was just as cozy as I’d expected it to be, with a big fluffy couch and band posters on the walls. We curled up on her couch and discussed more intimate matters. She told me about her boyfriend and how she wants to move in with him. Of course, the topic of Alex and I came up.

“So, you’re dating that Alex boy, aren’t you?”, Stephanie asked, obviously trying to get the details out from me.

“I am. He’s a total angel. I didn’t realize that love actually felt nice until I started going out with him”, I told her.

“Awwww, you guys are too cute. Every time I read a tabloid article about you kids, I can’t help but notice how in love you guys are!”, she told me.

“We are very in love!”, I replied.

“Well, have you two fucked yet?”, she bluntly asked me.

“What is it with everyone asking if we’ve had sex? Even my own mother wants me to fuck him!”, I replied, slightly annoyed.

“Well, first is that you’re 24 and have yet to get laid, second is that you’d get your first lay from a rockstar, third is that he’s probably really good in bed, so all you’d have to do is sit back and enjoy the ride”, she said, giving me a suggestive look.

“Ok, I want to do it, but I don’t want to rush things. We haven’t been together very long, and I don’t want to ruin the relationship!”, I admitted.

“Girl, having sex will reveal a deep part of his personality and it’ll help you know if he’s the right one or not. If he’s an ass in bed, then you’ll know that he’s an ass deep down and all this cute shit is a lie. If he’s tuned in to you and cares about your pleasure and comfort, then you’ll know that he really is a great guy!”, she told me.

“I want to argue the point with you, but you’re right. I was thinking that I’ll ask him the next time we have a day off at a hotel”, I replied to her.

“Oh my god do it! And tell me afterward what his dick is like!”, Stephanie loudly demanded. We both burst out laughing.

“Well, the bulge in his underwear looks pretty good sized…”, I replied, and Stephanie and I laughed even more.

After a bit more storytelling and wildness, it was time for me to go. We were playing our first show in Chicago the following night and I had a meeting with the tour team to go over the plans. When I got back to the hotel, I immediately went to the meeting and met up with Alex and the rest of the Arctic Monkeys. Matt came running into the conference room with Alex thrown over his shoulder. Alex was yelling and laughing. Nick and Jamie followed them in with a more calm demeanor. I approached Matt and gave him an acknowledging nod before smacking Alex’s arse as hard as I could.

“Oi! Matt! What the fuck was that for!?”, Alex yelled as he reached his hand back to rub his stinging arse.

“That wasn’t Matt!”, I replied as I walked around Matt so that Alex could see me.

“(Y/F/N)!”, Alex yelled when he saw me, completely forgetting about his arse. 

He wiggled about in Matt’s grip in an attempt to break free. Matt shifted him so that he was carrying Alex bridal style and handed him over to me.

“Hi dear”, I said before sharing a quick peck with him. I brought him to our spots at the table and set him down in the chair. All throughout the meeting we touched each other’s knees under the table and messed around like a couple of giddy children. Once the meeting was over and we’d eaten and drank to our hearts’ content at dinner, we went to bed.Once we were under the covers and all snuggled up, Alex spoke.

“(Y/F/N), there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about”, Alex said, a bit more serious than usual.

“What’s up, baby?”, I replied.

“Well, I was wondering, uh… are you interested in… um… would you maybe want… um uhhh… do you wanna like… fuck or uh have sex? Not right now but like… at some point in the future?”, he said, his cheeks all red and his eyes avoiding my gaze. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“You realize that both my mom and Stephanie have told me I need to fuck you?”, I asked him.

“What? Really! All day the boys told me ‘you and (Y/F/N) need to fuck already!’ but I’ve been so nervous to ask you. I know you’ve never done it before, so I didn’t want to pressure you into doing it”, he said, sounding slightly stressed.

“Well, I do want it, Al. I was nervous to ask you too because I didn’t want to move things too fast, but everyone’s told me that it’d be good for our relationship”, I said to him.

“I agree. I think it’ll be fun and I’m hoping it’ll bring us even closer than we already are”, he said.  
“I don’t see how you making my brain release all of the feel-good hormones with your dick could bring us farther apart”, I said. Alex had a little giggle at that.

“You’re a nerd”, he said jokingly.

“Are you just now realizing that?”, I asked. At that, we resumed our cuddling and eventually fell asleep.

The next day was pure chaos. It was our first show in Chicago. It wasn’t just any show. This show was extremely special for me because my mom and Stephanie were coming. I had given them All Access Passes when I saw them so that they could get backstage. They met me early and got to sit and watch the soundcheck. The made sure to applaud after every song that Arctic Monkeys played, but they went wild when I checked my two songs. After that, they came back to the dressing room with me and they helped me pick out my outfit for the night’s performance.

Once I was dressed, Alex came over to my dressing room. My mother was pleased to see him again, but Stephanie had yet to meet him.

“Oh my god, I’ve been dying to meet you!”, Stephanie yelled when Alex entered the room. Part of it was because he was my boyfriend, but the other was because she was a huge fan of his.

“It’s nice to meet you, Stephanie”, Alex said as he hugged her. She had the wildest look on her face as she hugged him.

Once she was calmed down, we all talked and had a bit of fun. When it was time for me to go on, the whole group followed me backstage. Alex always came and watched me play, but it was a new experience to have my mom and best friend there with me. While I played, they all rocked out. During one of the slower songs, I saw my mom grab ahold of Alex and make him slow dance with her. When I came off the stage after my performance, everyone surrounded me in a big hug. It meant the world to me knowing that they were proud of me.

They stuck around to watch Arctic Monkey’s set too. Like normal, Alex would glance over every few minutes to see my reaction. We made sure to let him know that we loved his playing. He always looked away with a smile on his face. Stephanie could barely handle the fact that she was backstage at an Arctic Monkeys gig. She was dancing and singing like crazy. Once Alex was done, my mom insisted on getting some pictures of us together to send to family. As she snapped her pictures, she kept saying something that made us both laugh:

“What a cute little rockstar power couple!”


	8. Chapter VIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Smut Chapter!*
> 
> Word Count: 4.8K
> 
> Notes from the Author: I tried my best writing smut, so if you’ve got any constructive criticism I’d love to hear it! 
> 
> (Y/F/N) = Your First Name
> 
> (Y/L/N)= Your Last Name
> 
> Tumblr Link: https://supersonic-scientist.tumblr.com/post/623073952370196480/gif

After we finished our shows in Chicago, we headed west. There were big gaps between shows that were spent on the road. We’d spend the days driving through the mountains, prairies, and desserts to get to the next stop. Being stuck on a bus with the boys was a bit hectic. After about five hours, they began to get a bit fidgety. More often than not, that usually meant they’d cause trouble. Matt was the worst about starting shit. He’d randomly tackle someone or pester someone. Alex usually napped or did some songwriting.

We’d stop daily for gas, and everyone would get off of the bus and stretch their legs. The guys would go for a run and I’d join them. My absolute favorite day was the time we went for a run in the desert in Arizona. It was hot even though it was 9:00pm, but I enjoyed seeing all of the cacti in their natural habitat. We’d usually run a few miles to burn off our steam and then we’d meet back up with everyone else and have dinner. The best place we stopped at was a little diner in the Colorado countryside the day before we played our show in Denver. The place was tiny, and there wasn’t enough seating for everyone. Nick sat in Matt’s lap and I sat in Alex’s so that a few other people would be able to sit down and eat.

After the crazy few weeks of being on the road nonstop, we were overjoyed to be in Los Angeles. We had a few days off before our show there and we were staying in a hotel. Alex and I already knew that we’d be doing a lot more than sleep in the plush hotel bed. On the way to the hotel, I saw one of those shops that sell expensive lingerie. It was only a block from the hotel. Once everything was sorted with our management and we were unpacked, I asked Alex.

“Hey, Al, I saw a lingerie shop up the street. Wanna come with me and help me pick some stuff out?”, I asked him as he sorted out the dirty clothes from his suitcase.

“You want me to come? Don’t you want to surprise me with what you find?”, he asked, a slight smile on his face.

“Yes, but I have no clue what I’m looking for. I need your guidance!”, I said, and he chuckled.

“Sure, love, I’ll come”, he replied.

We walked down the street hand in hand. It was a beautiful day in California. The sun was bright and warm. Palm trees lined the street along with plenty of upscale stores. Everyone walking past us seemed so important and dressed very well. I almost felt out of place here.

“You know, the record company has been begging us to move here”, Alex said as I looked around.

“Really? They want you boys to come live out here? Why?”, I asked, slightly shocked.

“They say it’ll be better for our career. This place lives and breathes rock and roll”, Alex said.

“Oh, well I guess you’re right”, I replied. The thought of him moving out here and leaving me hit me.

“But if I did, would you want to come with me? I bet it’d help your career too”, he asked me.

“Of course!”, I replied, feeling a weight lifted off of my chest.

“It’d be nice living here with you. We could get a big house with a pool, or we could get a penthouse in the city! Whatever you choose!”, he suggested.

“I’ll take the house with a pool just so I can see you in your swim trunks regularly”, I said to him, and we both laughed.

We came up to the lingerie shop after a few minutes. The place was full of the most stunning stuff I’d ever seen. There were racks full of dressing gowns, bras, panties, bodysuits, corsets, and stockings. It was a lot to process at first. Alex brought me out of my daze when he spotted something.

“Oh (Y/F/N), look at this! You’d look lovely in this!”, he yelled as he held up a light pink lacy number. The main parts of the bra and panty set were see-through with some strategically placed pink lace. It came with a matching lace garter belt and see-through stockings.

“I’m not sure, Al, I’d prefer something that leaves a little more to the imagination”, I commented on the set.

We shopped about and found some less revealing sets. Alex gave some minor guidance as to what he’d like to see, but for the most part, left it up to me to pick out what I liked and felt the most comfortable in. This shop offered fancy boxers, so we also picked out a few pairs for Alex that matched the sets I’d picked out. We were almost ready to check out when a voice from behind called our names.

“Alex! (Y/F/N)! It’s good to see you!”, the voice said. At first, I thought it was a fan. I turned around and smiled, but then realized who we were faced with. Standing in front of us was Alexa, Alex’s ex-girlfriend.

“Hi Alexa, how are you doing?”, Alex asked, giving her a kind smile.

“Oh, I’ve been pretty well. I see you and your new love are well!”, she said, smiling at me.

“We are. It’s nice to meet you!”, I said.

“It’s nice to meet you too. To be completely honest, I miss being in your spot. Alex is such a wonderful boy!”, she said to me.

“He’s the best”, I replied, putting my arm around Alex and bringing his body up next to mine. I saw her eyes divert to the emerald ring on my finger that was meant for her. Her face twisted into an expression of shock and disgust.

“Alex, I want to let you know that I regret breaking up with you. I just wish…”, she began, but Alex cut her off.

“You’re too late, Alexa. I’ve moved on. It’s been nice seeing you, though”, Alex said before walking away. I gave her a weak smile before following Alex to the register. Alex insisted on paying, and we quickly shuffled out of the shop.

“I can’t believe her! She shattered my heart into a million pieces, and now she regrets breaking up with me!”, Alex yelled, almost sounding angry.

“Alex, she’s probably jealous”, I told him.

“Jealous? Of us?”, he asked.

“Yea. It’s been less than six months since you broke up and you’ve already gotten into a new serious relationship. If the tabloids are right, she’s still single. Plus, I’m pretty sure she noticed the fact that I’m wearing her engagement ring”, I told him.

“Ok, but still”, Alex said, crossing his arms.

“Forget about it, Al. We’ve got an exciting evening planned!”, I said as I gently bumped into him, attempting to take his mind off of what just happened.

“I have some wonderful plans for tonight that I haven’t even told you about yet!”, he exclaimed.

“Plans that don’t involve us in bed?”, I asked.

“Yea! First, we’ll go to dinner at one of LA’s finest restaurants, then I want to show you one of the most beautiful views in the city, and last we’ll head back to the hotel and make love all night!”, he went on, clearly excited about our plans.

“Aww, you’re such a sweetheart!”, I said as I gave him a quick hug as we walked.

“I want to make your first time as special and romantic as possible, love”, he said as he brought my body next to his and placed a kiss on my cheek.

When we were back at the hotel, Alex went to Matt and Nick’s room with Jamie to hang out with the guys. I opted to stay in our room alone for a bit. Once Alex was gone, I began looking at what I’d picked up from the lingerie shop. I picked up two full sets of lingerie along with a robe and Alex’s boxers. The first set I picked out was a glistening ruby red ensemble with black lace. This set was particularly sexy since the top was a push-up bra and the bottom was a tiny thong. The garter belt consisted of a red strip of fabric with a wide, see-through piece of black lace sewn to the bottom so that it covered all of my lower stomach. The stockings that came along with it were also red.

The second set wasn’t nearly as sexy, but I found it to be more pretty. The pattern on it was navy blue with little silver stars and crescent moons that sparkled in the light. It was a strapless bodysuit that hugged my curves and was low cut enough that it made my breasts pop. It was just well-fitting enough that it didn’t try to slip down my body. Attached to the leg holes were straps that hooked onto the matching blue stockings. Each set had a pair of boxers made out of the same material that would look lovely on Alex. The last thing I picked out was my favorite. I ended up deciding to grab a robe to complete the look. It was made from a very thin see-through tulle that was as soft as a cloud. It was white and sparkled like a diamond in the light. It looked beautiful on top of both sets of lingerie.

Once I was done admiring myself, I took it all off before Alex came back. He wasn’t supposed to see it until later that night. We were leaving at 5:00pm and it was already 4:30pm, so I decided to pick out something to wear. We were most likely going somewhere nice, so I picked out a black minidress. Usually, I’d wear this piece with a t-shirt and leggings underneath, but I opted to wear it alone to show off some skin for Alex. When Alex came back to the room to change, the first thing he noticed was my dress. I watched as his eyes get big and a slight blush came to his cheeks.

“You look amazing, love!”, he said as he grabbed ahold of my waist and brought me up to his body.

“Is this too much?”, I asked.

“No, the kind of restaurant we’re going to is one of the ones where you dress up, so you look fine, dear”, he replied.

Alex changed into a pair of dress pants and a button-down shirt before leading me downstairs. I thought we would be walking, but I was mistaken. When we made it to the front of the hotel, the female assistant that sat next to me on the plane was standing next to a beautiful vintage blue soft top Volkswagen Beetle.

“Here you go, love!”, she said, handing me the keys.

“Alex?”, I asked him, validating that this was our ride.

“This beauty is ours for the night. Was looking at car rentals in LA and came across this place that rents out antique cars. You get so excited when we drive past one of these guys, so I thought you might like to drive one yourself”, he said, beaming as I grabbed him and hugged him so hard that he was gasping for air when I set him free.

“I fucking love you, Alexander!”, I said as I ran towards the car and got in. The assistant laughed at us before walking back inside.

“You kids be safe!”, she yelled at us from the hotel door.

The car was stunning inside. I was expecting it to be a stick shift, but it had been converted to an automatic. It also had power steering added and a radio with an aux cord. Alex put on a playlist he’d made of our favorite songs as I sped away from the hotel. He had the little navigation system stuck to the windshield take me to the restaurant. It led me to a very nice-looking Japanese place. I parked the bug on the road in front.

“This place is quite popular around here. So popular that you can’t get in without a reservation”, Alex told me as we got out of the car.

I was very excited as we walked in and Alex made his way over to the hosts’ podium.

“Reservation for Turner at 5:30”, Alex told the host. He opened up his book and flipped to a page.

“Sorry, but I don’t see you on the list. Is there any other name you may have put the reservation on?” he said to Alex. Alex’s face when white and I thought he was going to cry.

“No, it would have been Turner. I even spelled it out on the phone to make sure it was right”, Alex said, sounding shocked.

“Well, I’m terribly sorry, but I don’t have you down on the list. I’ll have to turn you away”, the host said. You could hear the genuine sadness in his voice as he spoke.

“It’s ok. Have a good night”, Alex said. We left the restaurant and went back to the car. Once we were buckled in, Alex burst into tears.

“I’m sorry! Tonight was supposed to be your night and now it’s ruined! I’m a terrible boyfriend!”, he yelled in between sobs.

“Alex, stop this madness!”, I said as I put one hand on his shoulder and another on his knee, “I’m not upset with you, this isn’t your fault, and the date isn’t ruined! It’s ok baby, no need to cry. I have an idea of what we can do instead!”

“What else is there?”, Alex asked.

“Well, I know you had a fancy night out planned, but I’ve been dying to try In-N-Out. Maybe we could go there?”, I said, rubbing his knee.

“Well, if we’re going to go there, we can get it to go and have a little picnic at the other place I want to take you”, he said, starting to cheer up.

“Yea, see? I bet this will be even better!”, I said.

I reached over and messed up his hair before I programmed the GPS to take us to the nearest In-N-Out. On the way, Alex rolled down the top of the car. The wind blew in our hair as we drove around downtown Los Angeles. The sun was low in the sky and the light was starting to become golden. The tears had dried from Alex’s eyes and it was clear that he was enjoying himself. When we pulled up to the drive-through, we ordered cheeseburgers, fries, and chocolate shakes.We pulled up to the window where you pay and get your food next. The girl that worked the window opened it.

“Hello that’ll be…”, she began but stopped abruptly, “oh my god are you (Y/F/N) (Y/L/N)?”, she asked me.

“I am!”, I replied.

“I’m such a huge fan of yours! I heard Standing Next to Me on the radio a few weeks ago and now I’m playing the album on repeat all the time!”, she almost yelled.

“Thank you! I’m glad to hear that people are enjoying my music!”, I replied, beaming at the young girl.

“I think enjoying is an understatement. I’m also going to see you play here in a few days with the Arctic Monkeys! I’m mainly going to see you. Their music pales in comparison to yours, but they’re alright”, she said.

“Hey!”, Alex yelled from the passenger seat.

“Oh Alex, calm down. She said your music is alright. She didn’t say that that it was awful”, I told him, and he gave me a fake pout.

Before the girl could respond, I heard a man’s voice yell from inside, “hey! What’s taking so long?”

“Oh shit I’m sorry!”, she said as she took my card and gave us our food. We wished her well as we went off to our next stop.

The GPS took me out of the main part of the city and led us up a large hill. At the top of the hill was a cliff with a gravel parking lot and a lookout area. It was starting to get dark and you could see all of the lights of the city lighting up. I pulled into one of the spots in the front and Alex and I got out and sat in the grass in front of the car. Alex handed me a burger and fries. Neither of us had tried In-N-Out before, but it was really good. We agreed that these were some of the best burgers we’d ever had. I looked over at Alex, who had a mouthful of burger with some sauce and lettuce around his mouth. He caught me looking and gave me a little smile. I took a napkin and wiped his face clean.

We finished our food and sat with our backs against the front of the car with my head on Alex’s shoulder. It was peaceful as we looked at the city. We were almost completely alone. We sat in silence for quite a while. We weren’t ignoring each other, but more or less were taking in the world around us. The lights of the city twinkled before me and I felt a bit cold from the night breeze, but the body heat radiating from Alex kept me comfortable. The soft material of his shirt rubbed against one cheek and his hair on the other. I was surrounded by the smell of his shampoo and cologne. I rubbed his knee as I relaxed into his body.

“I love the city. I grew up in a smaller city, but I love living in London. I think I’d love living here too”, I confessed to him.

“I think I’d like it here too. If the guys and I move out here, I’ll bring you along, if you’d like”, he replied.

“That’d be wonderful. I’ve considered moving back to the states, but I’m afraid to go alone. I think It’d be wonderful to live with you”, I told him, slowly cuddling him more.

“Well, considering the fact that we’re always together, do you want to move in with me after the tours all done? There’s no use in you paying rent when you could live with me”, he said.

“Really? You want to live with me full time?”, I asked, making sure he was serious.

“Yup. My place feels so lonely. And you and I are serious, aren’t we? I think it’d be nice”, he said.

“Absolutely! I love you!”, I exclaimed as I grabbed him and placed kisses all over his face.

When it was starting to get a bit late, Alex and I headed back to the hotel for the main event of the night. The drive back to the hotel was beautiful. It was completely dark, and the city lights glittered around us. The sky was clear so that the stars were easily visible. People were still out dressed in their finest clubbing outfits. Alex looked around in awe at the stunning sight. I couldn’t help but glance over at how cute he looked. The more time we spend in LA, the more attractive moving here becomes. If he goes, I’ll gladly follow.

Once we were back to the hotel, we parked the bug car and ran upstairs to our room like giddy schoolchildren. We were both really sweaty from how hot it was all day, so we decided it would be best to take showers before we had sex. Alex went and used Matt and Nick’s shower while I used the one in our bathroom. I washed my hair and scrubbed down my body well and then I dried my hair. After I was clean, I went back into the bedroom in my towel to put on the lingerie for the night. I had sent Alex to Matt and Nick’s room with the starry boxers, so I put on the matching set.

I laid it out on the bed and admired it for a minute. I grabbed a piece of string and threaded it through the hole in the zipper tab of the bodysuit. I stepped into it and used the string to zip it up. I carefully stepped into the stockings and attached them to the straps of the bodysuit. I wrapped myself up in the see-through white robe and checked in the mirror to make sure I was happy with how I looked before I texted Alex to come over.

He stepped into the room moments later wearing a white bathrobe. He removed it as soon as he was inside, revealing his bare torso and star boxers. He glanced at me and his eyes went big and his cheeks flushed an adorable shade of red.

“You look absolutely stunning, love”, he said as he walked over to where I was standing and placed his hands on my hips.

“You look quite amazing yourself”, I replied.

We spent a moment admiring each other’s bodies. I’d seen him shirtless before, but I never took a good look since it felt awkward to look. He’d never seen me in anything less than short shorts and a revealing tank top and he always kept his eyes looking into mine. It almost felt odd looking at him like that. We made our way to the bed and laid down. I sat up and moved so that I was sitting right on Alex’s pelvis and gently began to sway back and forth. He reached his hand up and very gently pulled my face down to his. Our lips met in a needy kiss. I had control, and I maneuvered my tongue into his mouth. I receive a few quiet yet appreciate moans from him as the kiss became more intense. With no warning, he broke the kiss and looked straight into my eye. His soft brown eyes were filled with lust, but they had a serious edge to them.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”, he asked me.

“Yes! Why would I be laying on top of you dressed like this if I didn’t want to?”, I replied to him.

“Are you sure though? I don’t want to pressure you into something you don’t want to do. I won’t be upset if you back out”, he said as he rubbed my arm lovingly.

“I’m absolutely sure I want this, Alexander”, I told him in a very serious tone.

His lips curled into a smile and his hand reached behind me and gently pulled down the zipper of my bodysuit. Before he could pull it off of my body, I moved off of him and reached down for his underwear. I attempted to yank them off in one go, but I only pulled the front down a bit just enough to expose him. He was already hard. He lifted his legs up and let me pull them down the rest of the way. Once he was completely naked, he reached his hand out and tugged at the top of my bodysuit. I let him take it off of me.We didn’t move for a moment, we just checked each other out. I’m by no means a penis size expert, but he looked decently big. I could tell that he was looking at my breasts. There was an extended silence, which Alex broke.

“You look lovely”, he said, his voice full of lust.

“So do you”, I replied, awkwardly grabbing ahold of his cock and pumping it.

“Are you trying to give me a handjob?”, he asked, giving me a side-eye.

“Maybe”, I replied, and he laughed.

“Why don’t you lie down and let me take care of you, love”, he purred, gently pushing my hand away.

He got up from his spot and I took it from him. It was still warm from him lying there. He got on his hands and knees and crawled up so that our faces were almost touching, and he closed the space between us. His bare body laid on top of mine as he passionately kissed me. I couldn’t help but rub my hands up and down his back and cheekily grab his bare ass. He left my mouth and trailed kisses down my jaw, and he stopped at my neck. He gently sucked and nibbled at the skin there for a moment before stopping.

“You doing alright, love?”, he asked after finishing working on my neck.

“Yes! Keep going baby!”, I moaned.

He quickly resumed his work, kissing down my chest. He glanced up to get my reaction before he began working my breasts. He took one nipple into his mouth and gently sucked it while he massaged the other with his hand. After a while he resumed, making his way down my stomach until he reached just below my belly button. He positioned himself so that his head was directly between my legs.

“May I go down on you, love?”, he asked.

“Please”, I begged him.

I tangled my fingers into his long hair as he lowered himself. I first felt his nose brush against my folds, followed by his tongue. My breath hitched in my throat at the sensation. His tongue expertly massaged my clit. It began to feel even more pleasurable when he inserted a finger and began gently pumping in and out. I pulled hard on his hair as he added a second finger. Soon I felt my orgasm coming.

“Alex, I’m going to come”, I whispered.

I came, having the best orgasm I’d ever had. If felt so much better when there actually was a person there pleasuring me and not just a vibrator. Once I was done, Alex sat up and moved over my body. I smiled at him and he returned it. He had the sweetest smile ever, and I couldn’t help but place my hand on his cheek and bring myself up to place a quick kiss to his lips.

“Are you ready for the main event?”, He asked me, leaning over to the bedside table to grab a condom.

“Yes! I’ve never been more ready!”, I begged, needing more contact with his body.

He sat back with his legs tucked under his body and I watched as he carefully unwrapped the condom and slid it over his erection. He positioned himself so that I could feel his tip brushing against my folds.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”, he asked.

“Yes! Come on Alex!”, I moaned, pulling at his hair.

He nodded, and after a moment I felt him slip inside me. He very slowly pushed it all the way in. The way he stretched me out felt amazing. My eyes rolled back in my head and I let out a few quiet moans.

“Hey, stay with me love”, Alex cooed, “I haven’t even started moving yet.”

When he did start moving, the ecstasy I felt tripled. He wasn’t thrusting particularly fast, but the movement was pleasurable nonetheless. I didn’t even realize it, but I was clawing his back. I didn’t draw any blood, but I did leave some pretty visible marks. After a few minutes, I could feel my orgasm coming.

“I’m close”, I was able to choke out between moans.

“Me too, sweetheart”, he moaned.

Almost immediately I released around him. I let out some obscene moans as I clenched around him. After a moment Alex released a loud sigh as he hit his orgasm. He pulled out and collapsed into the bed next to me. I watched him reach down and take off his condom before tying it off and tossing it into the trash. I grabbed ahold of him and brought his body up against mine as we came down from the highs of our orgasms. We were both sweaty and our skin stuck together, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. The feeling of his bare skin on mine sent my mind spinning. I wanted this moment to last forever.

“How was it?”, Alex asked once he was able to catch his breath, “was it everything you were expecting?”

“It was better than I was expecting. You’re quite the shag, Alex”, I replied to him and we laughed.

We were both pretty exhausted and ended up falling asleep quickly. As I dozed off, I remembered what Stephanie has told me. He was so sweet and caring in bed, which, according to her, was proof that he really was a sweet boy. I never assumed it was an act, but now I knew that he had been showing me his true self all along.


	9. Chapter IX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 4.3K
> 
> Notes from the Author: I would like to throw out there that I have nothing against Alexa, but I needed some conflict. 
> 
> (Y/F/N) = Your First Name
> 
> (Y/L/N)= Your Last Name
> 
> Tumblr Link: https://supersonic-scientist.tumblr.com/post/623706973366517760/gif

We stayed in Los Angeles for a few days and played a few shows before moving onto Japan, Asia, Europe, and then back home to England. Exploring the world was wonderful. I had the opportunity to see so many beautiful places and meet many amazing people. The tour was amazing, but after six months, I was happy to be home.

It was mid-October when we finally returned to London for good. We had missed the short-lived British summer, and now it was chilly again. We were wrapped up in coats as we said our goodbyes to our team and the band before we stepped into a taxi. Walking into Alex’s apartment was the most comforting thing I’d experienced since leaving for tour. It was completely quiet there. No loud growling engine, no noisy boys next door, no laptop keyboards clicking, just pure silence. There was also the guarantee of a clean, warm, comfortable bed to sleep in every single night.

We were both starving, and I could tell that Alex was just itching to do some cooking. Alex is quite the chef, and it was obvious that he really missed being able to make his own meals during the tour. He excitedly made his way into the kitchen, twirled around, and opened the fridge. To his dismay, it was barren. All that was left was an almost empty carton of eggs that expired a long time ago and a very moldy block of cheese. We had done our best to empty it before leaving, and it hadn’t been refilled.

“Fucking hell, that’s what I forgot!”, Alex yelled, shutting the fridge door.

“Does it usually magically become full before you return?”, I asked, confused as to why he’s upset about his empty fridge.

“Yes, usually I have whoever is watching the place go do my shopping a day or so before I get back. I forgot to have that done this time”, he sighed, “it’s fine, we’ll just get takeout and deal with this tomorrow.” He opened the drawer in the kitchen Island and began digging for takeout menus.

“Alex, one slight issue”, I said to him, pointing to the digital clock on the microwave that said it was just past 1:00AM.

“Shit. All of the takeout places closed at midnight, fuck I’m starving”, he said, clearly annoyed.

“Well, the grocery store down the street is open 24 hours”, I tell him.

“Well, what other options do we have?”, he sighed, pulling his car keys from the other drawer on the island.

We went down to the garage below the building and got into Alex’s black Mini. I’d driven so many cars in the past few months, but none of them, except for the vintage bug car, beat Alex’s Mini. It was comfortable, familiar, and had a musty, but homey, smell to it. Alex put on a Coldplay CD, and off we went to the store.It was different being at the store so late at night. There were a few people there, but it was much emptier than usual. We were both starving, so our cart ended up very full. We got the usual things, like fresh fruits and vegetables, pasta, eggs, meat, and other staples. We also ended up with quite a few things we usually didn’t get. Alex went a bit wild in the bulk foods section and ended up getting five big bags of candy. He also picked up plenty of sweets from the bakery and stocked up on alcohol.

Loading the car was a nightmare, and then getting it all upstairs was even better. The security man gave us an odd look as we shuffled upstairs with a large caddy of groceries at 3:00am. Once everything was put away and the kitchen was cleared, Alex got to work making curry with rice. We had some wine with our meal, and once we had finished eating and cleaned up our mess, we were both exhausted. I wanted to walk back to my apartment, but I was too tired, and it was too late. Alex and I ended up stripping down to nothing and falling into bed together. We tried to do something sexy but ended up falling asleep before we got very far.

The next morning (or afternoon, we slept until noon), I awoke feeling well-rested and at peace. I’d missed being here so much while we were gone. I rolled over to see if Alex had woken up yet, but his side of the bed was empty and cold. The covers had been pulled back and Herbert the bear laid in the middle of the empty spot. I sighed, wanting his warm touch and his skin against my own. I got out of bed and wrapped myself up in my bathrobe before going on the hunt for Alex. I found him in the living room, lying on his side on the carpet in front of the large window. He had a thin piece of white fabric wrapped around his waist and he was positioned so that he was looking out his window at the city before him.

“Alex, love, good morning”, I spoke in a soothing voice. He jumped, but relaxed when he saw it was me.

“Hi sweetheart”, he said through a smile. He sat up and reached his arms out for me, and I let him grab me and pull me down so that I was sitting in his lap facing the window. I rested my head against him and curled up into his body.

“What are you looking at, Al”, I asked him as I got myself comfortable.

“Just watching the city. Doing some thinking and planning”, he replied to me.

“About what?”, I prodded him.

“About what the next year will look like. I’m taking the rest of the year off so that I have time to write the new album, but the guys and I have been seriously considering moving to LA sometime during the early part of next year. I’m going to miss London so much, but I think we’ll benefit from being in LA. And the new sound that I’ve been creating is very American, so where’s better to record it than America?”, he told me.

I nodded. We didn’t speak for a while after that. We sat together in silence and cuddled. I pondered my options. If I did move to LA, I’d be closer to my mom. We could even drive to her house if we wanted. We’d also have better weather there. I sat there with him for a while, lost in thought.

The first few days of being back were slow and restful. We’d get up, have breakfast, watch some tv, take a nap, make lunch, lazily make love, cuddle, have dinner, and sleep. It took a few days for us to recover from the hectic schedule and get back to our normal selves. Once we were feeling up for it, Alex wanted to make the trek to his parent’s house in Sheffield. They hadn’t seen him in a while, so he thought that they’d appreciate a visit. He asked me if I wanted to come along and I gladly accepted. We packed our bags and loaded up the Mini for our weekend stay at the Turner’s residence.

The drive was three hours, but we had fun nonetheless. We would talk, make jokes, listen to music, and eat sweets to keep ourselves entertained. For most of the drive, I kept my hand on Alex’s thigh. I had to tease him a bit and gently brush my fingers over his inner thigh and crotch. Every time I touched him there, I heard his breath hitch. I couldn’t help but giggle at his suffering.

Alex was very excited as we came into Sheffield. It was his home and he was very proud to say that he was born and raised there. As we made our way to the High Green part of town, Alex pointed out different landmarks to me. He showed me some historical landmarks, but most of what he pointed out was important to him. He showed me the park he used to play in when he was a kid, the school he and Matt went to together, a coffee shop the boys used to meet up at, and the music shop where he bought his first equipment at.

The trip down memory lane ended at the driveway of Alex’s parents’ house. We pulled our suitcases out of the back of the Mini and made our way up the walk and to the front door. Alex rang the bell and before too long the door swung open to reveal Penny Turner. I met her at one of our UK tour dates but didn’t really get the chance to talk to her very much.

“Alex!”, she yelled as she swooped up her son into a big hug, “I’ve missed you so much!”

“Mum, it’s good to see you!”, he grunted as she squeezed him, “I brought my girlfriend, (Y/F/N), with me today.” he motioned to me. His mother set him free and turned her attention to me.

“(Y/F/N)! It’s so wonderful to see you!”, she exclaimed as she gave me a gentler hug, “Alex has been telling us so much about you! I’m so glad you’re here so we can get to know you!”

“I’m excited to be here! Alex has told me so many stories about growing up and I’m excited to meet everyone!”, I replied to her.

She led us into the house, and I followed Alex upstairs to his childhood bedroom to drop off our things. Unlike my childhood home, all of the furniture here was new and very nice. I could tell that Penny had a knack for interior design. The walls were a golden tan with beautiful art and wall hangings adorning them. The couches were a beautiful red with fluffy cushions. One wall was entirely covered with a fancy shelving set, and many of the shelves were filled with framed pictures of baby Alex. The rest of the house wasn’t too dissimilar. The stairs had a red runner going up them and the upstairs had paintings hung in between every room.

We made it to a door with a sign that read “Alex’s Room”, in blue letters. Alex pushed the door open and led me inside. The room looked just like what you would have expected it to. The walls were painted a light blue and were covered in band posters. He had a corkboard above his desk with a few concert tickets and pictures of him with his friends stuck to it. I recognized Matt in a few of the pictures. He had a full-sized bed with blue blankets on it. He tossed down his things and jumped on the bed. He was on his side with his hand on his hip and a cheeky grin on his face. He laid back and spread his legs before wiggling an eyebrow at me.

“Stop being cocky with me, Turner. I’m assuming your mother would like us downstairs soon”, I said as I jokingly rolled my eyes.

“Well I’d like to do naughty things with you”, he replied, thrusting his hips up into the air.

Before he could tease me more, his mother yelled from downstairs for us to come down. When we came down, she was digging about looking for photo albums. Alex’s father had joined her in looking for them.

“Alex! It’s good to see you”, his dad said as he hugged Alex. He moved his attention to me and reached his hand out for a handshake.

“It’s nice to meet you, dear. You make our boy so happy”, he said with a genuine smile as he shook my hand.

Alex’s mom finally found all of the photo albums and began to flip through them. My mother had shown Alex the highlights of my life, but Alex’s mother showed me everything. Her photo album started with pictures of Alex being born via cesarean section. Alex’s cheeks were red with embarrassment as she showed me the pictures of a very bloody baby Alex being pulled from her body. She then continued to show me his newborn pictures, pictures from when he was a toddler, and pictures from all throughout school. She made sure to point out how big his ears were in primary school. She didn’t hold back any pictures, even the ones of him running around naked as a little kid.

“He was such a hyper little thing!”, Penny said as she showed me pictures from when Alex was little, “and he hated clothes. I couldn’t even count the number of times I got him all dressed up for the day and him stripping down when I turn my back for a moment!”

“You know, he’s still kind of like that. If he can find an excuse to be naked, he’ll take it”, I said while giving Alex a gentle nudge.

“I’m not surprised!” Penny replied.

Alex’s face was all red as we laughed. I put my arm around him and kissed his cheek in an attempt to calm his embarrassment. His redness got a bit better though when we got to the album full of pictures and articles from Arctic Monkeys. She saved tons of magazine and newspaper articles about them and had taken many pictures herself. It was very evident how proud she was of her son and that she was slightly obsessed with him by the sheer number of pictures she had of him. It ended up taking almost three hours to go through all of the photo albums.

When all of the pictures had been seen and Alex was thoroughly embarrassed, we all relaxed and chatted. Penny and David wanted to know more about me and my upbringing. I told them about my mom and me, some about my teen years and college, and then about how I got into the music industry and met Alex. They seemed very pleased with what I told them, and David said that he thought I was a good influence on Alex.

It finally came to be time for dinner and Alex and I worked in the kitchen with Penny. It was pretty obvious where Alex got his cooking skills from. Alex chopped potatoes, onions, and garlic for one dish while I helped Penny make a quiche. Alex made my favorite tapioca pudding for dessert while everything else cooked. We ended up making a wonderful meal of quiche, fried potatoes, and tapioca pudding. I told Alex that I expected him to make these dishes for me at home because they were so good.

When dinner was done and cleaned up, we all chatted over a bottle of wine. Alex’s mother was aware of how Alex gets wine drunk pretty quickly, so she cut him off at two glasses. Alex could easily drink an entire bottle on his own. We talked for a long time but ended up going to bed fairly early. Alex was up to his antics once we were alone in the bedroom. He backed me up against the wall and swiftly moved his lips to meet mine. Things got heated very quickly. We ended up grinding on each other as his hands fondled my breasts and mine squeezed his ass.

“Wanna take this to the bed?”, he purred while stroking my side, his face mere centimeters from mine.

“Are you fucking crazy? Your parents are down the hall! What if they walk in on us?”, I whispered to him.

“Their room is up the hall. The guest bedroom is between us. They won’t be able to hear a thing. I’ve gotten up to all kinds of things and made plenty of noise when I was younger, and they never heard me. And my door locks”, he reassured me.

“Ok, you’ve convinced me”, I said, “but you need to keep your moans down to a minimum”

“That’s the only thing I’ll keep to a minimum”, he whispered in my ear.  
Not long after the bed had been torn apart and Alex and I were embroiled in a passionate lovemaking session. He laid on his back while I rode him and pulled at his hair. He promised to keep his noises at a minimum, but he didn’t keep it. Penny and David must either be deaf or chose to ignore the loud moans that escaped Alex’s mouth. It ended up with me making him suck my fingers to keep the sounds at bay. The next morning, they showed no signs of hearing what had happened. We had breakfast as normal and chatted for a while afterward. We talked until Penny suggested the next activity.

“Alex, your hair is too long! You look like you’re a girl. Why don’t you let me cut it before you go”, Penny said, changing the subject.

“What! No! I love my long hair! You’re not touching it mum!”, he yelled, bringing his hands up to protect his hair.

“It can stay longer, but I want to make it a bit shorter. You need to get rid of all of those dead ends”, Penny argued.

After a while, he finally agreed. Penny sat him down in one of the tall chairs from the bar and tied a bedsheet around his neck to keep the hair off of him. She then got to work chopping away. She ended up chopping off an inch of dead hair. Although Alex was apprehensive about having his hair cut, it looked better slightly shorter. I could run my fingers through it better due to the lack of tangled ends and it framed his face well. He quite liked it once it was done.  
After dinner that night, we left for London. On the way out of the Turner’s house, Alex’s parents made sure to express that they loved me and asked us to visit again soon. When our goodbyes were finished, we packed the Mini and headed home. It was nice to be back in Alex’s apartment. The next day, though, would be a hard one. I was moving out of my place and into Alex’s and we were going to box up my belongings and start moving them over. We slept well that night knowing that we’d be working our asses off in the morning.

The next day at my apartment was a lot, but we had lots of fun. I didn’t have much, but what I had still took a while to deal with. Thankfully we didn’t have to mess with any large furniture since the apartment came furnished. Alex helped pack my bedroom. He’s the master of neatly folding clothes, so he helped pack my closet into a box. It took him some time because he kept finding things he intended on borrowing when I moved in. I had left him unattended and came back to a surprise. Alex had decided to change into one of my flowery sundresses and was parading around the room in it.

“Alex? Are you having fun, dear?”, I asked him. He jumped and his face turned white when he realized that I saw him.

“I’m sorry I’ll take it off I was…”, he began, but I cut him off.

“No, you look stunning, I was just shocked that you wanted to try it on”, I replied to him.

He was pretty embarrassed, so he took it off even though I told him that he could wear it. After that, he continued packing and I went back into the kitchen and living room to keep packing. We had planned for it to take two days to pack up and leave, but we only took one. After about 6 hours of packing, all of my stuff was in boxes. It took us two loads in the Mini to get it all over to Alex’s. When everything was out and I’d turned my keys in at the front desk, I was officially living with Alex. We were planning on doing some unboxing that night, but we were so tired that we just went straight to bed. We were so tired we didn’t even want to share a bottle of celebratory champagne.

We unpacked my things over a few days, and once we were done, we began planning for Halloween. Alex would always go to a house party hosted by his friends and this year he asked me to come along with him. We had picked out some matching skeleton jumpsuits as our costumes for the party. He told me that this wasn’t a big celebrity party, but just his friend group. It usually just involved drinking and hang out, nothing too wild.

The party itself was pretty fun. There were a few familiar faces in the crowd, such as Ariel and the other Arctic Monkeys, but I didn’t know most of them. It was nice to be able to meet the rest of Alex’s friend group and they all were very pleasant. Alex got to work at the bar making his famous margaritas for all of the guests. I even had one, and usually I don’t drink in settings like this. I sat at the bar and watched my sweet little skeleton boy make drinks. He haphazardly measured out the ingredients for the drinks. Watching him shake them was pretty entertaining. His hair would shake about as he vigorously shook the drinks to mix them. He’d serve them with a smile, and everyone was excited to get their hands on one of Alex’s margaritas. It was all fun and games until one particular guest made their way to the bar.

“I’ll take a watermelon marg, please”, the familiar voice ordered. I took my eyes off of my boyfriend and saw that the owner of the voice was none other than Alexa.

“You better not start any trouble”, Alex told her as he began making her drink, “I’ve moved on. You’ve got no chance.”

“No worries, I’m just here for a drink”, she replied.

She grabbed her drink and left. We were hoping that we wouldn’t see her again, but we were mistaken. When Alex’s shift at the bar was over, we made our way to the couch and chatted. We hung with Jamie, his girlfriend Katie, and a few other people. We were all laughing and having a good time. After a little bit, I got up to use the bathroom. On my way back to the couch, I heard Alexa call my name.

“(Y/F/N)!” She called from behind me.

“What do you want?”, I asked, staying calm.

“You and Al seem pretty happy together”, she said.

“We are”, I replied, trying to find her intentions.

“Well, he was so much happier with me. He seems pretty content with you as a substitute. If you really cared about him, you’d break up with him and let him come back to me”, she pressed, slowly coming closer to me.

“What? No! You broke the poor boy’s heart! Even if we broke up, he wouldn’t go back to you! Move on! You’re not doing yourself any good by clinging onto this!”, I exclaimed, and her frustration turned into anger.

“You stupid bitch! You stole my boyfriend away from me, and then you tell me to move on? Fuck off!”, she yelled loud enough for everyone to hear.  
I saw Alex, Jamie, and Katie come running from the other room over Alexa’s shoulder. She came right up to me and proceeded to shove me over. I fell backward to the ground. Katie, Alex, and Jamie quickly came to my rescue, blocking her from me and making sure that I was ok before their attention turned to Alexa.

“What the fuck was that?”, Alex screamed at her, “why the fuck did you feel the need to do that!”

“Because that ugly little bitch is in my spot!”, she retorted.

“Alexa! You broke up with me! You ruined your own shot! (Y/F/N) came in and helped me heal from the emotional damage you caused me when you dropped me! You can fuck right off!”, Alex yelled to her, and at that, he returned to me and put his arms around me. I laid my head on his shoulder to conceal my tears.

“Alex I…”, she started, but he cut her off.

“You’ve done enough”, Alex barked to her.

At that she was silent. Alex helped me to my feet and wiped the tears away from my eyes. He gave me a gentle peck to the lips and brought me up against his body.

“Do you wanna leave?”, he asked me in a sweet, tender voice.

“Yes”, I whispered.

He said a quick farewell to the host before we headed out the door. As we got into the car, I saw the door of the house open and Alexa being led out. The drive home was silent for the first part. Alex didn’t speak until halfway through the drive.

“I’m sorry. If I’d have known she would be there, I wouldn’t have gone. I’m sorry you had to deal with that”, Alex said, sounding defeated.

“It’s not your fault. She shouldn’t have acted like that. I’m embarrassed that she made me cry”, I sighed.

“Don’t be. I would have cried too. She said everything she could think of to belittle you and make you feel like shit. And this whole thing is my mistake and not yours. I’m sorry”, he said, beginning to choke up.

“Alex, don’t you dare blame yourself. She did this. She saw how happy we are together and now she misses being happy with you. You’re quite the catch, you know”, I told him, rubbing his arm to comfort him.

“I love you”, he said, a small smile creeping onto his face.

“I love you too”, I replied, ruffling his hair.


	10. Chapter X

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Smut Chapter*
> 
> Word Count: 3.7K
> 
> Notes from the Author: I’m sorry to announce that this fic is almost over! I wanted to focus it on Humbug era, and I’m almost to Suck It And See. 
> 
> (Y/F/N) = Your First Name
> 
> (Y/L/N)= Your Last Name
> 
> Tumblr Link: https://supersonic-scientist.tumblr.com/post/624343607405608960/pretty-visitor-chapter-x

Moving in with Alex turned out to be a dream come true, especially now that we’re back to working. we took some time to relax and get used to living together full time, but now we were busy with songwriting. He had his spare bedroom converted into a mini studio space, complete with soundproofing and a mini mixing desk. Alex spent his days there writing away. He told me that I was free to use the space, but that’s not how I like to write. I prefer to lounge on the bed with a guitar, a small electric keyboard, and my songwriting notebook.

During the day, we didn’t see much of each other. We’re in our separate spaces working on our own things. We make an effort to have lunch together, and we always try to wrap up by 7:00pm. We spent a few hours every evening cuddling while watching TV or listening to a record. It wasn’t anything exciting, but the domestic bliss of the whole situation was lovely. Every Sunday we would spend the day cleaning the place. Alex was such a clean freak, so he liked to make sure that the place was spotless. I wasn’t as picky about cleanliness, but I appreciated having the place clean, nonetheless.

Spending more time with Alex was lovely, but in the next few weeks, we’d be spending it apart. The year was coming to an end and it was almost time for Christmas. I wanted to go home and see my mom since I hadn’t spent a Christmas with her since starting college. Alex wanted to visit his parents too, so we decided that we’d spend Christmas with our respective families and recombine to spend New Year’s Eve together.

Alex drove me to the airport before Christmas on his way to his parents’ house. It was such an emotional goodbye He was almost as emotional as my mom was when I left for London for school. Alex and I were both crying at the thought of having to spend two weeks apart. We hadn’t spent more than 48 hours apart since we began dating, so the idea of being apart for 14 days was painful. We did it though, sealing the deal with a kiss before I boarded the plane.

I had missed how nice Christmas was at home. This was the first time I didn’t spend it all alone eating cookies on the couch. I was so excited to see all of my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents for Christmas Eve. Well, everyone except my cousin Ruth. She was a few years older than me and was always cruel to me and the other kids growing up. She made a point to chase me around and pull my hair when we were kids. She’d act all nice and innocent around the adults, but when the kids were alone, she’d torment us. When we were about 10, she pushed me and my cousin, Tommy, out of a tree. I was ok, but Tommy broke his arm. When asked what happened, Ruth said that we fell and that she wasn’t in the tree at all.

When my mom and I walked into my grandparents’ house, the first person we noticed was Ruth. She was sitting on the couch with her hand over her very pregnant stomach. According to my mom, her boyfriend had dumped her and thought that getting pregnant would bring him back. It didn’t and she had to move back in with her mother. I knew she was going to take it out on me since she knew about my relationship with Alex. A few hours later, I was sitting in the kitchen with Tommy and another cousin. We were chatting about school, our relationships, and so on. It was very pleasant until Ruth sat down. Tommy has been talking about his girlfriend and Ruth made a point to say plenty of nasty things about her. Then she made her way to me.

“So, (Y/F/N), I hear you found yourself a rockstar?”, she started in the most condescending tone possible.

“And?”, I replied.

“I was just wondering why he’d go for a trashy girl like you. I mean he could have any pretty model he wants, yet he had to pick the ugliest girl he could find”, she said. My blood was boiling at what she said. I could have punched her, but Tommy interjected.

“Ruth, if you’re just going to be a petty asshole, go somewhere else”, Tommy said.

“Shut the fuck up, Tommy. This is an important question!”, she shouted at him.

“Looks don’t matter to everyone, Ruth. You would know a thing or two about that. If all men cared about were looks, then you’d have never gotten a boyfriend”, I replied, pretending that I was staying calm.

“I fucking hate you all and I hate this family!”, she screamed as she stormed off.

Thankfully, she and her mother left not long after. It was quite peaceful with her gone. We were able to exchange gifts and eat cookies in peace. I hadn’t seen many of these relatives in years, so I was enjoying getting to talk with them. I got lots of questions about making my album and Alex, and everyone was very happy to hear that I was doing well.

Christmas Day was spent with my mom at home. I was so shocked that she had put gifts under the tree for me to open just like when I was a kid. I was able to do all of my usual Christmas traditions with her, such as make gingerbread cookies and cook a roast for our Christmas dinner. I wished that I could bring Alex home with me and introduce him to our American Christmas traditions. I had talked to him, and we decided that once we became more serious, we would do both families Christmases every other year. 

I stayed with her for a few days after Christmas, but soon it was time to go back to London for New Year’s Eve with Alex. I gave my mom the biggest hug before she took me to the airport. I promised her that I would return sooner than later. We shared one last hug before I went in to catch my flight. The flight was long, and it seemed even longer than it was. I was impatient to get back home and see Alex. When the plane finally landed, I went ripping off of it and hurried through security and customs. When I was free and had my luggage, I walked out to see Alex standing by the gate. He had a small group of fans around him and he took a few pictures and signed a few things. When they had left, I made my move.

I called his name, and he looked up and his eyes met mine. I could see his brown eyes glistening as his lips formed a big smile. He opened his arms and I jumped into them. He held me up so that I could wrap my legs around his waist and squeeze him as hard as I could. I placed kisses all over his face while he giggled. I had missed him so much and I didn’t want to let go. I missed the contact as soon and I set him free, but he made up for it by holding my hand as we walked out. I was already tired, and the walk to Alex’s car was long. It was very chilly, and I pulled my coat closer to my body, but it was calm and eerily quiet. The only sound that filled the silence was engines of planes taking off and landing. Alex brought my body up against his side as we walked. I looked up and saw that the sky was clear and filled with millions of stars.

“Look at the stars, look how they shine for you”, Alex began to sing quietly.

“And all the things that you do”, I replied with the next line of the song.

“And they were all yellow”, we sang in unison. We shared a little giggle, and our breaths became visible in the cold December air.

We had our cute little moment, but I was very pleased to see the lights of the Mini flash as Alex unlocked it. He helped me load my suitcase in the back before we got in. He turned the heat all the way up before he drove away from the airport. I was thrilled to be back in our apartment. I went to bed straight away and had the comfort of falling asleep wrapped in Alex’s arms.

The day after next was New Year’s Eve. Alex and I were holding a small party with the other Arctic Monkeys at our apartment. Alex had made sure we were stocked up on alcohol the previous day so that when the boys came over, we were ready to party. They also brought along their partners. I’d already met Katie, Jamie’s girlfriend, but I had yet to meet Brianna, Matt’s girlfriend, and Kelly, Nick’s girlfriend. We spent some time around the guys early on, but about two hours before midnight, they went into the home studio and Alex showed then what he had been working on.

Chatting with all of them was nice. We all shared the struggles of dating a famous musician, but I had different experiences being one myself. They asked me plenty of questions about what life was like working with my boyfriend and being just as recognized as he was. I was happy to report to them that we work together very well and that we often have fans approach us wanting to talk with both of us. I also discussed the downside, which was that many tabloids and publications try to claim that all of my success is because of Alex.

When it got close to midnight, I went and brought the boys back into the living room. We poured the champagne and counted down to midnight. When the clock struck midnight, Alex’s hand slipped behind my head and brought my lips to his. He gently parted my lips and his tongue entered my mouth. We sat like that for a good couple of minutes. I couldn’t help but smile into the kiss. This was the first New Year’s kiss I’d ever gotten. When the kiss finally broke, I grabbed ahold of Alex’s body and brought it even closer to mine in a loving embrace.

“Happy New Year, darling”, Alex whispered in my ear as he rubbed my back lovingly.

“What a way to ring in the new decade”, I whispered back, referring to the fact that it had just become 2010.

“We’re not done yet, sweetheart”, he replied.

He wasn’t wrong. Everyone stayed for a few more hours. It was fun to have everyone there, but Alex and I couldn’t wait to have the place to ourselves. When everyone started seeming like they were getting tired, we gently pushed them towards the door. Once we had bid everyone goodnight and the house was quiet, I ushered Alex into the bedroom. We proceeded to have the best New Year’s Day that I had had up to that point. It wasn’t the only amazing day that I had that week.

About a week after New Year’s Day was Alex’s 24th birthday. His last birthday had been spent sobbing after being freshly broken up with. I didn’t have to do much to make his birthday better than last year, but I wanted to nonetheless. I had it all planned out. The first part of the day he was going to spend with the guys. Miles, Matt, Nick, and Jamie were going to take him out and have some fun. We thought it’d be good for him to get some quality time in with the guys. I helped them sort out a whole itinerary of activities to keep Alex entertained. They’d have him for most of the day, but I would have him for the evening, and I had made some lovely plans for the two of us.

From the moment he woke up, I made sure to shower him with extra love. I very carefully got out of bed as to not wake up Alex and tiptoed into the kitchen. I prepared his favorite breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes with a bowl of fruit and some orange juice and brought it to him in bed. I made sure to give him a good cuddle as we ate our breakfast. When we were done and had gotten ready for the day, I sent Alex off with the boys for his day of fun. Once he was gone, I borrowed the Mini and made my way to the shops. I needed some things for later that night, but I also needed to get him some gifts. It was difficult to shop for gifts for him since he was born less than two weeks after Christmas. I mostly got him things that he had wanted but didn’t get for Christmas.

I stopped at quite a few clothing stores and got him a few new sweaters, a coat, and a couple of new pairs of pants. He had said that he had been wanting a nice wristwatch before Christmas, but he didn’t get it, so my next stop was a jewelry store. The choices were slightly overwhelming, but I settled on a smaller sterling silver watch with a band of diamonds around the watch glass and a mother of pearl face. My last stop was at a bath products shop. I got a few bath bombs along with some bubble bath, rose petals, and candles for the romantic bath I was planning for our alone time later that night. Once I had everything I needed, I went back home and got everything ready for Alex’s return, which included baking a cake.

I heard a ruckus in the common hallway, and after a moment I heard a banging on the door and Miles’ voice yelling “Oi! (Y/F/N)! Open the fucking door!” I opened it and in spilled all of the boys. Once they calmed down, we all ended up sitting on the couches and having a pleasant chat about the day. On our couch, I sat on one side, Miles on the other, and in between us sat Alex. We both cuddled him and gave him plenty of hugs and kisses. He was on cloud nine from all of the affection.

Before the boys all left, I brought out the cake I had made earlier as we all sang happy birthday to our dear Alex. I cut the cake and passed around the pieces to everyone. Once the cake was gone, I was desperate to get them all out of the house. I wanted to have the birthday boy all to myself. I nearly pushed everyone out the door, and when it was shut, I pressed Alex up against it.

“Your special day isn’t over yet, love”, I whispered, my face hovering centimeters away from his.

“What’ve you got planned for me?”, he asked, his voice feigning innocence.

“You’ll see”, I replied.

I led him back to the bedroom and sat him down on the bed. He seemed to be expecting to get laid first thing because he laid back on the bed and took off his shirt. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Nice try Alex. You’ll get some of that later, but first I have some gifts to give you”, I told him.

He brought himself back up and I handed him a few neatly wrapped boxes. I made sure to keep the box with the watch hidden from his view until the end. I watched him as he carefully opened the boxes and pulled out his new clothes. He seemed to like them and said that I knew just what he liked. He thought that gift time was over, so he folded the clothes and set them aside. He got up to his hands and knees and began to crawl towards me. I stopped him before he could get too frisky.

“Hey Al, don’t take it out of your pants yet, I’ve still got one more gift for you!”, I said, pointing for him to sit.

He sat back down, and I handed him the small box. He looked at me with a slightly confused look. I told him to go ahead and open it. When he got the paper off and revealed the inner box. He slipped the lid off the box to reveal the watch inside. He studied it for a moment before looking up at me with a huge smile on his face.

“(Y/F/N)! This… it’s beautiful! It’s the most stunning watch I’ve ever seen! I love it so much!”, Alex yelled, then he wrapped me up in a big hug and placed kisses all over my face. He went to place the watch on his wrist when I stopped him.

“I wouldn’t put that on yet, I’ve got another surprise for you”, I said to him.

“What is it?”, he asked, his eyes big and curious.

“Stay here and I’ll get you when it’s ready”, I replied.

I placed a kiss to his forehead before going into the bathroom and getting it ready for our bath. I turned the water on so that it was hot and tossed in a blue glitter bath bomb and some bubble bath. I placed some rose petals on the top of the water and around the tub. Around the edge of the tub, I placed some vanilla-scented candles. I turned the lights down and put on a romantic playlist before I returned for Alex. He was laying back and relaxing on the bed, and he eagerly came when I beckoned him into the bathroom.

“Wow! This is all amazing!”, Alex exclaimed as he took in the sight. He made his way over to the tub and glanced down at the sweet-smelling blue water that glistened in the candlelight.

He quickly undressed and we got into the tub. I sat with my back against the tub, and Alex laid in between my legs with his back against the front of my body. I lovingly massaged his shoulders as his body relaxed into the hot water and my touch. We stayed like that for a while, just relaxing. Alex, though, insisted that I washed his hair. He laid his head in my lap so that I could easily reach his head. He made some very inappropriate sounds as I massaged the shampoo onto his scalp. Once his hair was clean, he returned to leaning against my body and cuddling. After a while, Alex turned himself so that he was sitting in my lap with the fronts of our bodies up against each other. His lips met mine and I kissed him back. I gently pulled at his hair as our mouths collided, and soon things became heated. I could see the lust in his brown eyes and could feel how hard he was. It wasn’t long before things made their way to the bedroom.

I instructed Alex to lay on his back and put his hands up to the headboard of our bed. He did as he was told, and I tied his hands up with one of his belts. When I glanced back down to his face, his lips were turned down into a pout, and his brown eyes were as big as saucers. I lovingly stroked his sides as I positioned him. I laid my body on top of his and I brought my lips to his and lovingly kissed him. I rocked back and forth on top of him as we kissed, and he responded with a few quiet moans.

I abruptly broke the kiss, which resulted in Alex giving me his big, pleading eyes again. They shut as I resumed kissing his jawline. I went up his jaw and brushed his hair back so that I could get to the sweet spot behind his ear. I placed a few kisses and gently sucked at the skin before making my way back down his jaw, neck, chest, and belly. With each kiss, his body melted to my touch. I stopped when I got to just below his belly button and repositioned myself so that my head was between his legs. I kissed his inner thighs, which Alex responded to by letting out a low moan. Without any warning, I moved my kisses from his thigh to the tip of his erect cock.

His breath hitched and he slightly bucked his hips. I held his hips down as I took the rest of him into my mouth. My tongue expertly swirled around him as I slowly bobbed my head up and down. His moans got progressively louder as I went. Before he got too far along, I released him from my mouth and sat up. I lined myself up with him. He was incredibly needy and bucked his hips up. I gave him a light smack to his belly, and he responded by pouting at me.

“No Alex! Do that again and you won’t be getting any!”, I scolded him.

He listened and didn’t attempt that again. Once I thought that enough time had passed, I slowly sank myself onto him. He released a loud moan while I sighed at the pleasurable feeling between my legs. Once I was comfortable, I began to move. I started slowly rolling my hips but picked up the pace as we got more comfortable. Alex’s moans became louder the closer we got to our orgasms. I came first, and Alex followed shortly after. Alex cried out as he exploded in me. When we were both satisfied, I lifted myself off of him and released his wrists from the confines of the belt. I tossed the belt to the floor and fell into the bed next to him. He wiggled himself up to me, and I wrapped my arms around him. He buried his face into my chest and I gently stroked his hair.

“Happy birthday, sweetheart”, I whispered to him as I kissed the top of his head, “I love you.”

“I love you too”, he whispered back, “thank you for giving me the best birthday.”


	11. Chapter XI and Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 2.6K
> 
> Notes from the Author: This is it! This is the first multi-chapter fic I’ve written, and I’d like to thank everyone who read it and helped me! I promise more is on the way!
> 
> (Y/F/N) = Your First Name
> 
> (Y/L/N)= Your Last Name
> 
> Tumblr Link: https://supersonic-scientist.tumblr.com/post/624974132080214016/gif

January passed us like a very chilly breeze. Once the festivities were over, Alex and I went back to normal life. Alex was going into the studio every day and working out the songs he’d written with the rest of the Arctic Monkeys. I had the apartment to myself most days. I decided that I’d wait to get studio time until we moved to Los Angeles at the end of February. I wasn’t too keen on having to start something and then have to start all over with a new team.

The preparations for the move were already underway at the beginning of February. We got the moving boxes and began to pack some things that we wouldn’t need, such as extra bedsheets and out of season clothes. I was excited to move to LA, but at the same time, I was heartbroken to be leaving London. I’d spent the past seven years there and the city is so dear to my heart, but I knew that this move was important for my career and my relationship with Alex.

Before we left, we had one last engagement in London to attend: The Brit Awards. I was excited to see what would happen at these awards since Arctic Monkeys and I were nominated for many of the same awards. We promised each other that we wouldn’t get upset if we beat each other, and I do not doubt that that promise would be kept. I had a feeling that Alex was hoping that I would win so that he wouldn’t have to go up there and make an awkward speech.

Preparing for the ceremony was exceptionally fun. I’d had a gown custom made for me for the event. The gown was an emerald green strapless number with a tight, form-fitting bodice and a floor-length ball gown skirt. I opted to do my own hair and makeup for the event. I kept my hair down and curled it with a flat iron. I put on some glittering gold eyeshadow and nude pink lipstick. Alex helped me get into the gown and zip it in the back for me. I slid the emerald ring he’d given me last year onto my ring finger to finish off the look. I stood in front of the mirror and admired how good Alex and I looked in our awards show getups. I grabbed his wrist and admired the watch I gave him for his birthday, which he had on.

“Your outfit isn’t complete yet”, Alex said, looking at my barren neck.

“I don’t have a necklace that looks good with this outfit”, I replied to him. He giggled.

“Close your eyes”, he instructed me. I did as he said and closed my eyes. I heard shuffling behind me, and soon I felt the cold of metal around my neck.

“Ok, open them”, he said. I opened my eyes to find a beautiful emerald necklace around my neck. There was a large emerald in the center with a smaller emerald on each side. Each emerald was surrounded by a circle of small diamonds. It matched the ring perfectly.

“Alex! This is beautiful!”, I exclaimed as I looked at the necklace around my neck.

“Though you might like it. Think of it as an early anniversary gift”, he said as he stood behind me and hugged me.

I gave him a quick thank you kiss before we departed. Alex got picked up in a limo with the other Arctic Monkeys, but I got a different limo alone. The ride was fairly short, and before too long I was walking the red carpet. I felt so stressed with all of those lights shining on me and all of the photographers shouting my name. I spoke to a few journalists who were, thankfully, very polite and asked relevant questions. I was about to go inside when I felt a pair of arms wrap around my body. I wasn’t sure who to expect, but I was overjoyed when I turned around to find that it was Alex. I smiled at him and gave him a quick peck to the lips.

“Hey (Y/F/N), I was inside and noticed that your seat is right next to mine, so I thought that I’d bring you in and show you where it is”, he said with a sweet smile on his face.

I took his hand and he led me inside. The theatre was beautifully decorated, and inside was full of high-class musicians. I almost felt out of place here, but so many people gave me a warm smile and said hello as we passed. We made it to our seats at the tables. A gold paper nameplate that read (Y/F/N) (Y/L/N) sat on the table in front of my chair. The rest of the Arctic Monkeys were sat at the table. The boys and I chatted until the ceremony started.

I was interested to see which of us would win what awards. We were all nominated for Best British Album and Album of the year. Arctic Monkeys were nominated for Best British Group, and I was nominated for Best New Artist and Best British Female Solo Artist. We sat patiently as we waited for our categories to come up. Each and every time I was nominated for an award, the announcer loudly proclaimed, “And the winner is… (Y/F/N) (Y/L/N)!” The crowd would erupt in applause, but none was louder than Alex’s wild yelling and applauding. It was obvious that he was proud of me, even though he came home with no awards. I made sure to mention him in my acceptance speech for Album of the Year.

“Thank you! I’m so glad to be here tonight! About a year ago when I went into the studio for the first time, I never thought I’d make it this far. Music was always just a hobby for me throughout college, and I never thought I’d be able to make it my career. There are so many people who have supported me through this journey, and I wouldn’t be here without them. The first people I’d like to thank are my mom and best friend. I’ve always done crazy, outlandish things, but they have always stood by my side and supported me in whatever I wanted to do with my life. The next group of people is like to express my gratitude to would be the team of producers, engineers, and musicians who helped make The Age of the Understatement a reality. Without them, I wouldn’t be here today with such an amazing album. The last person I’d like to thank would be my dearest boyfriend. He gladly showed me how to work in a studio setting and what life on tour is like, but he also showed me what unconditional love feels like. I’ve won four awards tonight, and he didn’t win any, but he’s still down there cheering like a maniac every time my name is called. Again, I would like to thank everyone who helped me get here and everyone who chose me for these awards. Thank you!”

When the ceremony was over, I followed the boys to an after-party. We ended up not staying for very long, but I still had so many people come up to me and congratulate me. It was an odd feeling for me to feel this important. One part of me kind of liked it, another wished it would go away. I was very relieved when Alex said he was ready to go. When we got home, I carefully wrapped my awards and packed them away. I’d get a shelf at our new house in LA to display them on.

The next few weeks were a whirlwind. Alex and I spent our time packing away our lives to be shipped almost halfway across the world. During that time, Miles, who had already moved out to LA, did our house hunting for us. He found a nice house up the street from his, and it was perfect for us. The kitchen was big and modern, the upstairs had plenty of rooms for when our friends and family came to visit or if we decided to expand our family, and the basement and upstairs were large, and open concept. The backyard had a pool and a beautiful view of the city. We put in our offer and it was accepted! We couldn’t wait to start our new lives in LA in this beautiful house.

A few days before departure, Alex came home after running some errands with all of his hair tucked into a knit hat. I came waltzing over to him giggling up a storm and pulled the hat from his head. My heart almost stopped when his long, fluffy hair didn’t come falling out. I gasped and covered my mouth at the sight. He had cut his hair. The sides were short, and the top was long with a little curl in the front.

“Do you like it? I thought I’d get an American haircut since we’re moving to America. And all of the long hair probably won’t be very comfortable in the LA heat”, he said, nervously trying to gauge my reaction.

“I love it, Al! I was just a bit shocked at the change! It suits you well. Shows off that sharp jawline of yours”, I replied, admiring his jaw. I could tell that he relaxed when he knew I liked his new haircut.

A couple of days later, Alex and I watched as the moving crews carried our belongings out of the apartment. We went on one last walk through the empty rooms before we left. I could see the tears forming in Alex’s eyes.

“I moved here during one of the hardest times of my life, and it was here that my life turned around and I found joy again. I’m going to miss this place so much”, he quietly spoke, fighting back tears.

“Al, it’s ok”, I told him as I wiped his tears away, “I promise you that we’ll make even better memories in our new home in LA.”

He was also upset about having to sell his beloved Mini, but I assured him that it was for the better. I promised him that he could have a nice American car when we got to the states. It seemed to comfort him slightly as he handed the keys to the apartment to the receptionist of his building. She wished us luck in LA before we left. A few hours later we were on a plane to Los Angeles getting ready to start our new life together.

*Epilogue*

Ten years later, we ended up back in London. Living in LA was fun during our twenties, but now we’re older, our music has taken different directions, and we prefer to work in Europe over the US. In January, just before COVID-19 broke out, we packed up and came back to London. This time, though, my mother followed me to England. It was nice that both of our families were only a car drive away at any given time.

We celebrated our 11th anniversary not too long ago. It doesn’t even feel like we’ve been together that long. We’ve both changed a lot in that time, but we never outgrew each other. Even when we spent months apart during tours or recordings, we still managed to keep in touch and keep our relationship alive and well. A common question that we’re asked is why we chose to not get married. The simple answer is that it just didn’t feel right for us. We did get “engaged” on our third anniversary, but we agreed that it was more of a proposition to spend the rest of our lives together, not necessarily a request to get married. After that point, we would refer to each other as our partner instead of boyfriend or girlfriend.

We’ve been through a lot, and we always come through better on the other side. There was one point, though, that I didn’t think we’d make it through. After Alex was done with the AM tour, the band decided to take a hiatus. The boys wanted to focus on their families, and we saw our chance. I came home a few weeks after Alex from my own tour, and at that point, we decided to try for a baby. At first, we thought it would be easy, but it proved to be one of the most difficult things we’d done. We tried our best, but month after month we’d get a negative pregnancy test. Our doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with us, and we felt defeated. After almost a year of trying, we gave up and decided that we weren’t going to be parents.

Two months after giving up, I noticed that my period was late. I was sure that I was overreacting, but as a precaution, I took a pregnancy test. It came back positive. I hadn’t even told Alex about my late period because I didn’t want to get his hopes up, but he heard me screaming in the bathroom when I saw the result. When he came to check on me and saw the pregnancy test, we were both yelling and dancing in delight. Alex was super excited to become a dad, but that also meant that he was extremely heartbroken when I lost the pregnancy at 13 weeks. I wasn’t super upset about it, but Alex had already bonded deeply with the baby and didn’t take it well at all. He kept the only ultrasound picture we had tucked into the corner of the frame of a picture of us that he keeps on his bedside table. When he finally emotionally recovered, we decided against trying again.

Now, things are calm. When quarantine went into effect, we had to drop all of our projects and stay home together. We hadn’t spent this much time together since the early days of our relationship. There were no deadlines, no projects needing to be worked on, and nowhere to be except for home. We spend our days enjoying the presence of one another. We have time now to try a new recipe, rearrange the living room, lazily make love, or just lay back and do nothing.

This time has provided us with some memories that will last us forever. I’ll never forget Alex writing an entire love song for me after an incredibly passionate lovemaking session, or when he spent hours making perfectly marinated chicken only for him to trip over the dog and drop and shatter the plate with the chicken, or the warm nights when we’d sit outside and play our guitars and sing our favorite songs. We were sad when the stay at home orders lifted and life began to slowly return to normal. Alex promised me that someday we’d retire, and we could spend that time just like we spent quarantine.

I couldn’t wait for that time to come. Until then, we would continue doing what we love and sharing our music with the world. We’ve even considered doing a duet album together one day. No matter what life will throw our way in the future, I know that Alex will be by my side and I’ll be by his and that we will face any new challenges together.


End file.
